Matriarch of the Hyuga Clan
by dreadlord789
Summary: After the death of his adoptive Grandfather, Naruto falls down a spiraling depression, one that he is unlikely ever to get out of. When he is on the edge looking down, someone decides to make themselves known to save his life, and possibly save theirs too.
1. Chapter 1

**Well guys, im back with yet another new story. Dont worry, i will still write on other stories but ive been working on this one lately and i thought it would be well received.**

**This story will have lots of fluff mixed with some action, and will follow canon as much as i can, but i will deviate on certain key events. If you dont like what i just said then this story is not for you, and stop reading right now.**

**I would like to extend my thanks to my beta reader Leonas, who had given me lots of feedback and has made sure there are as few errors and inconsistencies in this story as possible.**

**Hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto**

**_Chapter 1_**

**_Day after Kyubi Attack_**

Hiruzen was sitting in the council chambers with a sleeping baby wrapped tightly in a blanket. There were several council members missing, killed by the Kyubi, and all around the room there was silence, a silent prayer for the many deaths, especially the beloved Yondaime.

Hiruzen stood up. "I have called everyone here to decide a course of action to rebuild Konoha and reinstitute a Hokage."

Shikaku sighed. "I think it's obvious here that we need you to take up the position of Hokage again Sarutobi-sama. That will be the best way to instill hope in the people and prevent any civil unrest."

Hiruzen knew this was going to happen, but he wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his days in peace, maybe train a few Genin here or there. However, he also had a duty to the village that overruled his personal desires.

"Very well, I accept the position of Hokage."

All around the room there were nods of approval, even from Hiruzen's old team mate, Danzo.

"Now, I will let the civilian side of the council to direct the repairs of the village as they see fit while our Shinobi continue to take missions and secure our borders, we don't need Kumo or Iwa to attack while we are temporarily weakened."

Once again there were nods all around the room.

"Now, I need to bring attention to another matter. The child in my arms was the child chosen by the Yondaime to imprison the Kyubi, and we must decide his future."

There were murmurs all around the table, until one of the civilians spoke up. "We should keep him as a ward of the state to hold his loyalty, then be trained as a Shinobi in order to keep the beast in check. He must only be given the simplest of training, so he can be easily taken care of if he turns on us."

Hiruzen glared at the man, but before he could argue at all Danzo slammed his cane on the ground. "Nonsense! He should be given to me so he can be trained to harness the beast's power and become one of our strongest weapons. I will ensure his loyalty personally."

Shikaku shook his head. "That won't work Danzo. In order to draw on the power of a Biju its host must be in full control of their emotions, and we all know that those are the first things to be erased whenever you train someone."

Danzo was about to reply until Hiruzen stood up. "Quiet! You will wake him… Danzo, council, I will have to decline both your suggestions." Several opened their mouths to argue until Hiruzen held his hand up. "Hear me out. If you allow me to adopt him as a surrogate grandson, then I am willing to compromise."

There were another wave of murmurs, and once it was quiet until the same councilman as before spoke up. "Compromise how Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen sighed. "I'm going to regret this, but I am willing to make concessions if you agree to my terms. Danzo, I will allow you to keep your ROOT program, without any interference from either myself or the ANBU, as long as you work within the laws of Konoha and don't force anyone into your program unwillingly."

Danzo smirked. "I can live with that. Keep the brat then."

Hiruzen nodded and turned to the civilian side. "I will be willing to lower the standards of the academy so that more of your children and the children of other civilians are able to become Shinobi."

The ten civilian council members turned to themselves and began talking again for a few seconds until the same man from before spoke up. "Very well, we won't oppose you if you wish to take in the _child_."

Hiruzen sighed. "Ok, now, in order for this deal to go through, I will establish some ground rules. Under no circumstance is anyone outside of this room to learn of young Naruto's status as a Jinchuriki. This isn't just for his safety; it is for the safety of us all. Should another village learn of his burden, then they may kidnap him and turn him against us, and we can't fight the full power of the Kyubi unleashed. Also, no one can interfere in his life or take any action against him, or I will see it as a threat against myself and will respond in kind. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads. "Good, then let's go, we have a village to rebuild."

**_13 Years Later_**

The rain was pouring down this day, a rare occurrence for a usually sunny part of the world, but then again, the weather did fit the mood. It had been two days since the end of the invasion, and many had died. Shinobi, civilians, pets, children; none were spared from the onslaught of the combined strength of Orochimaru and Sunagakure, not even the third Hokage himself. It was on this rainy day that his funeral was held, and all were weeping bitterly at their loss.

Sure, everyone _loved_ their leader to an extent. Sure, they were all sad when he passed, but for the majority they would just mourn and eventually move on. Such was the natural order of things. Not even his family would be saddened forever, and Sarutobi Hiruzen's memory was doomed to eventually fade into the history books, just like the previous two Hokages.

But this wasn't true for everyone. There was still one who stayed at his grave after all others had left, still one who shed tears after everyone else's had dried up, one by the name of Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto had never had a family to love him, he had never had friends to play with, and he never had a significant other to share his pain with.

Naruto was still kneeling at the gravestone even as it got dark, his body shaking from a mixture of exhaustion and hypothermia, brought on from kneeling in the rain for hours on end.

'Why did you have to leave me Jiji? Why did you have to sacrifice yourself?'

A new wave of tears burst forth from his eyes as the only happy memories of his young life played forth in his mind: Naruto being treated to ramen by the Hokage himself while riding on his shoulders; Naruto walking into Hiruzen's office and embarrassing him by asking about a certain orange book; him being consoled with an ice cream cone after failing the Genin exams… twice. The list went on but they all held a common factor: Sarutobi Hiruzen was the only one to show Naruto any kind of love, they would laugh together, play together, and cry together; and now he was gone.

Naruto held his head in his hands while trying to stop the tears, and felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder to see his sensei Kakashi with a somber expression.

"Come on Naruto, you need to go home and sleep. We have training in the morning and I can't afford to have you sick."

Yes, it was Naruto's hypocritical sensei, Hatake Kakashi. On the outside he may spout bullshit about never abandoning team mates and always living by a high moral standard, but on the inside he was the same as every other villager, selfish and conceited. It had taken Naruto a long time to come to this conclusion, but the facts were undeniable. It started from the beginning, at the bell test when he was tied to a post for trying to get food. Sure he had broken the rules, so he understood why _he _was tied to a post, but he couldn't fathom why he was the only one. His pink-haired team mate hadn't done anything to advance the team, but she got off scott free, and was even ordered to _kill_ the blonde. Naruto was horrified, and luckily it was all part of the test, but those facts stuck with him.

In Wave country Kakashi only began their training when they were threatened by one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and even then he taught them Chakra control, a basic exercise that Naruto had mastered months prior with the help of the Hokage. Naruto of course played the part of the fool and failed intentionally so he wouldn't arouse suspicion, but he was sure that Kakashi suspected something. The fact he let it slide meant two things: either Kakashi didn't want to upset the rest of the team and kept it from them, or he just didn't give a shit. Naruto suspected it was the later of the two.

The final nail on the coffin was after the preliminaries of the Chunin exams, when before Naruto could even ask his sensei for help, Kakashi had pulled Sasuke aside for privileged training. Of course Naruto was shot down when he tried to join them with some excuse such as he couldn't let the two observe each other's training methods in case they fought in the finals, but he knew that Kakashi just didn't want to deal with him. Of course, Naruto got special training under one of the Sannin, so he wasn't exactly complaining, but at after that incident he lost all respect for his _sensei_. He was just like all the other villagers in Naruto's eyes.

Naruto grudgingly looked back at Hiruzen's gravestone.

"Hai. I'll go home."

Kakashi removed his hand and turned around. "Good, be at training ground 7 at 8 A.M. sharp. Don't be late."

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto stood up on shaking legs. "Well, looks like not eating all day isn't very good huh? I don't feel like ramen… wow, I guess that's a first."

Naruto chuckled at his own joke. "Guess I'll just eat some bread or something and go to sleep."

Naruto trudged through the rain and mud on his way home, avoiding anyone who might still be out this late at night. He slipped a few times and just lay in the mud for a few moments before he found the willpower to actually get up.

Along the walk he racked his brain thinking of people who still cared about him, but on his life he could only find four. His old academy teacher Iruka, the grandson of the late Hokage Konohamaru, and the father-daughter team who ran the ramen stand he frequented.

In each case he knew that though they _did_ care about him, they never really had the same connection like the one he had with the Sandaime. They would always be people he cared about, but they would never be his light like Hiruzen was.

Hiruzen was one of the few people who would acknowledge his existence. Unbeknown to Naruto, the civilians had found a way around their agreement with Sarutobi. If they couldn't act against him actively, then they would do it passively, by ignoring the fact that he was even there. His entire life, he was simply ignored, when he was alone of course, no one in their right mind would ignore the Hokage. At market stands, at restaurants, at the academy, he would be treated as nothing, like he was never even there, and it hurt Naruto more than the sharpest of kunai.

Never before in his life had Naruto felt so depressed, and his mood was just getting worse when he saw his two team mates outside his apartment building.

Naruto sighed and tried to walk past them but a firm hand on his shoulder turned him around.

"Whatever it is Uchiha, I'm sure it can wait until morning. I'm in a really bad mood and I just want to sleep."

Now Naruto finally knew of Sasuke's pain, and he couldn't help but respect him a little. Having his only family ripped from him, and it felt like he had died inside. He couldn't even imagine losing his entire clan, and somewhere deep down he finally understood Sasuke's drive to avenge his family.

Sakura smacked the back of Naruto's head. "What the hell baka!? We come over to your place in the rain to make sure you're alive and this is how you thank us? Stop acting like such a kid and get over it, he was old anyway! It was bound to happen sooner or later!"

Over the past few years he had been hit numerous times by the pink-haired girl, and from experience he knew that they were supposed to hurt. Apparently she was a firm believer in negative reinforcement. Strangely enough, he didn't even register the pain; in fact, he wouldn't have even known he was hit if his head didn't get pushed forward disrupting his vision. Her insult though, that hit him at his core, and it was something that he wouldn't let slide.

Naruto still had his head hung. "Haruno. Don't _ever_ hit me again. I've had _enough_, and I think it's about damn time for your little bad habit to stop… or mark my words I'll start hitting back."

Sakura could feel sadness and anger in his words, and she flinched because of it. "Naruto… I… I'm sor-"

Naruto just kept walking through the mud, up the stairs and into his apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Sakura looked at his door and turned to face her other team mate. "Hey Sasu-"

She saw him already walking away. She looked up and Naruto's door, and back to Sasuke's retreating form, trying to decide what to do. After a few seconds of debate she ran after the last Uchiha.

Naruto walked into his bathroom and looked into the mirror. He didn't exactly like what he saw. There were huge bags under his red puffy eyes, his face looked sunken from not eating enough the past few days, and his once bright hair had lost its sheen and looked dull.

He turned on the shower and waited for it to get warmish; it never did get warm enough to be considered comfortable, just warm enough to not catch hypothermia. When he ran his hand under the running water he didn't even feel the warmth, in fact he didn't feel anything, absolutely nothing at all.

Naruto turned off the water and chuckled. "So I guess this is what it feels like to be dead huh? I guess my mind just hasn't caught up with my body…"

The blonde walked out and sat down on his lumpy couch, for once not bothered by the springs poking through parts of the fabric. He let himself collapse onto the cushion and he felt his hand brush against the fabric of the kunai pouch by his side, hearing the distinct sound of metal bumping against metal. An idea formed in his head, and he slowly reached down and pulled out one of the sharp ninja weapons.

He slowly ran the tip of his finger along the edge of the knife, and felt it give him a slight cut. He flinched back and brought the kunai away from his hand.

"Wait…"

He looked down at the small cut oozing crimson blood.

"I can feel _that_…"

A despairing smile grew on his face. "I just want to feel again… I guess I'll see you soon Jiji."

He rolled the mud-caked sleeve of his outfit up and brought the cold steel against the bottom of his wrist, where he knew the most blood vessels were. He took a deep breath of air, but just as he was about to begin the deed his door flew open.

He didn't register the blue-black blur that flew into the room and knocked the kunai out of his grip, pushing him back into the couch. The air was forced out of him and his vision became blurry from the sudden exertion. When he looked up he saw someone he honestly didn't expect to see.

It was one of the girls from the rookie twelve, a dark and shy introverted girl by the name of Hyuga Hinata. When he looked into her eyes he saw a range of emotions, from grief, to pain, to…anger?

Hinata walked up to him and slapped him across the face, hard. "What do you think you're doing!?"

Naruto couldn't choose which to be more surprised at, the fact that this girl just slapped him or that she was able to form a complete sentence without a stutter. He pushed himself upright on the couch. "What does it matter? I just wanted to feel again, and by doing that I would get to see the only person who cared about me in my entire life…" Tears formed again despite him trying to hold them back. "People looked at Jiji as just the Sandaime, a powerful ninja and the leader of Konoha… but he… he was the only reason I lived… He was the only one there for me all those years…"

Hinata looked horrified. 'How… how can someone live like this all those years? I watched him; he never showed these kinds of pain and sadness… Wait, we did this. We all did…'

_Flashback_

_Images flashed through Hinata's mind, memories of her early childhood. She vividly remembered seeing a young blonde boy inside a store, and he was in asking for help in picking out a gift for his "Jiji". She didn't know who this boy was, but she watched as everyone in the store seemed to ignore that fact that he was there. She watched for about ten minutes as the boy tried to get someone to help him, all in vain. Hinata looked up at her assigned guard for the day, a main house member by the name of Ko._

_"What did he do Ko-san? Why is he ignored like that?"_

_Ko looked at the boy with disgust, then took Hinata's small hand in his and began walking away. "Don't concern yourself with him Hinata-sama, he deserves everything that's happening to him"_

_Hinata couldn't protest, and just looked over her shoulder and saw the boy begin to sob on the ground._

_Fast-forward a year and Hinata was standing outside the Konoha Shinobi academy, once again with Ko._

_"Hinata-sama, this is where you are going to be attending soon. You have a lot of people expecting great things, and I know you can do it."_

_Hinata looked frightened. "Do you think I'll be ok?"_

_Ko smiled down at her. "Of course you will, you are the heiress of the Hyuga clan after all."_

_Hinata frowned a bit, and looked behind her when she heard what sounded like rope moving back and forth. She saw the same boy from the previous year on a rope swing looking down at the ground with a look that showed just how lonely he was._

_"Ko-san, it's that boy again."_

_Ko narrowed his eyes and led Hinata away from the building. "Come Hinata-sama, it is time for your training."_

_It was several months later, and Hinata was in the middle of a forest surrounded by three boys. She had a terrible morning practice and just wanted to be alone, so she ran through Konoha, but she had unintentionally run into three boys from her class and spilt their ice-cream. Now they had forced her on her hands and knees and were trying to get her to apologize. She was silently praying for someone to help her as tears rolled down her face._

_"Hey, leave her alone!"_

_The three boys and Hinata looked at the newest arrival; it was the same blonde-haired boy._

_"Oi, get lost punk! She ran into us and refused to apologize, so we're teaching her some manners!"_

_Naruto scowled at the kid. "No you're not, you're just being mean! I'm sure it was an accident, and you guys are just being mean for no reason!"_

_The small boy didn't like the tone Naruto was using with him, so he stepped forward and punched him in the face, sending Naruto tumbling to the ground. "Now beat it, before I have to hurt you some more!"_

_The kid was caught off guard with Naruto jumped at him, knocking him off the ground. Naruto sat atop him, hitting him and trying to keep the boy pined._

_"Go, get out of here!"_

_Hinata knew he was talked to her, but she couldn't move a muscle out of fright. She saw the other two boys drag Naruto off their friend and they all proceeded to beat him mercilessly. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the frightening scene playing out before her, and she would never forget the pleading look in the blonde-haired boy's blue eyes, begging her for help. It was help that never came._

_"Hinata-sama!"_

_Hinata recognized the voice of her guard Ko, and she knew that someone who could help was finally here._

_The boys stood up and ran off. "Oh shit, scatter!"_

_Ko ran over to the Hyuga girl and helped her up on her feet. "Hinata-sama! Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?"_

_Hinata shook her head no. "I-I'm fine, b-but he's h-hurt!"_

_Ko followed her gaze and saw the unconscious blonde boy with a bloodied face. He grabbed Hinata's hand and began leading her away. "We must return to the compound Hinata-sama."_

_Hinata slightly struggled in his grasp. "B-but…"_

_She stole one last look over her shoulder at the boy who was still lying motionless. Hinata turned her head back around and steeled her gaze on the ground in shame, a tear falling down her face._

_End Flashback_

'I caused this… All those times I could have helped him, and I turned my back on him… That's it! No more. By being alone he's fallen this far. I can't let him go through with what he was about to do, if he dies… then I'll die with him. I guess… I guess I have to be strong, strong for us both. I have to finally talk with him, walk with him, hold him…'

Naruto couldn't hold back the tears and turned his head in shame. He thought that his little display of weakness would make the girl go away, or so he hoped. He felt so pathetic, and he could only picture that he looked the same. Imagine his surprise when he felt someone sit down next to him and wrap their arms around him.

He looked up at Hinata with puffy red eyes, and she looked hurt, as if she was recalling some painful memory. She pulled him down so his head rested on her shoulder and laid her head on his. "Naruto-kun, I don't think I could ever understand what you're going through, but you have to remember that there are others who still care a lot about you."

Naruto snorted. "Sorry Hinata, but the list is pretty short. I realized that when Jiji died a part of me died with him; I just didn't know it yet. It would be better to just leave me be… I don't have a purpose anymore." He started chuckling as tears continued to stream down his face. "It just sounds so pathetic… It's almost funny…"

Hinata gasped. "What do you mean? I thought your dream was to be the Hokage, to be recognized as a strong Shinobi and treated with respect?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, all I ever wanted to be was to be like Jiji. He was so strong, and kind, and understanding. He was a true Hokage, and everyone loved him. He cared about everyone and even though he made some mistakes, he swallowed his pride and apologized, seeking forgiveness and strove not to repeat those mistakes. I don't think I have that strength… I don't think I ever could."

This wasn't the same Naruto that she had known and fallen in love with, this was like she was before, a hollow shell of a person. Hinata sat in silence, contemplating how she could help him, and slowly an idea began to form in her mind.

'No way… that's… it's just impossible! But… that _just_ might make it work.' She stood up and kneeled beside Naruto, lifting his chin to bring him face to face with her. "Naruto… Ano… You said you no longer have a purpose?"

Naruto nodded emotionlessly.

Hinata swallowed a lump. "Do you want one? A purpose?"

Hope flashed through Naruto's eyes, and he nodded again.

Hinata smiled. "Then pack whatever belongings you have. Clothes, important items, toiletries; anything you need."

Naruto looked confused, but stood up and obeyed her command. 'It doesn't matter if I do it or not, but at this point I have nothing left to lose… Anything she has planned for me will be better than staying here.'

Twenty minutes later and Naruto had a small duffel bag filled with different things; clothes, a toothbrush, and his forehead protector. It was sad that he was able to fit his entire life into the small confines of a travel-size bag.

Hinata looked around at Naruto's apartment to make sure he didn't forget anything, and she spotted a picture of his team on the nightstand by his bed. She walked over to it and gingerly picked it up, showing it to the blonde.

"You don't want to take this with you?"

Naruto shook his head. "I was never really a part of the team, just a Genin that was needed to fill the quota."

Hinata flinched. 'I don't know how they could have hurt him so, but that stops now… I'll make sure of it.'

"Come with me Naruto."

Naruto nodded his head and followed the girl across Konoha in silence. She felt oddly confident, a feeling that the young girl had felt only a handful of times in the past, and just as the rain was letting up they stopped in front of a massive wooden gate. They had stopped at the Hyuga compound.

Hinata channeled a bit of chakra into the gate and the doors opened themselves. Hinata looked back and saw the eyes almost bugging out of the blonde's skull.

She giggled at his antics. 'Well at least he isn't just a shell… I'm glad he still has some of that child-like curiosity I love so much.'

"Wondering about the gate?"

Naruto nodded slightly.

"The Yondaime made them. Apparently several years before I was born he made seals for all the clan compounds that made them only accessible to those of the clan they were made for, and those who were specifically invited or were in the presence of someone of that clan."

Naruto smiled slightly. "That's amazing… The Hokages really are great people…"

Hinata smiled and grabbed the blonde's hand, leading him through the compound. Looking over his shoulder Naruto saw the gates close themselves again, and he could saw a seal matrix spread out over the gate, probably as a locking mechanism.

Just as they were about to enter the main building they were stopped by two guards. They were older men who grinned when they saw their clan's heiress approach. They would often delight in politely bullying her at every chance they got in some twisted plot of revenge against the main house. Little did they know that the meek Hinata was gone forever, and the new Hinata was far from amused.

"Hinata-sama, you know the rules. There are to be no visitors unless specifically invited by Lord Hiashi."

The two guards smirked to themselves, they knew that rule only applied to the branch members, but they also knew the heiress was way too timid to confront them about it. Their eyes widened and they began to sweat when they saw the 'timid' heiress bring her hand up in a familiar seal.

Hinata narrowed her eyes dangerously at the two guards.

"I see you two recognize this seal, good. Now I don't have to use it. Don't get me wrong, I abhor this seal, and I will abolish its use as soon as I am made clan head, but I _will_ use it on anyone who tries to usurp my authority. Do I make myself clear?"

The two guards fell to their knees ready to do everything in their power to not face the wrath of the caged bird seal. "Forgive us Hinata-sama! We will never even _think_ of going against you again!"

Hinata smiled and led the flabbergasted blonde into the house. "Excellent, now one of you go inform my father that I will be meeting with him in twenty minutes. Whoever is not doing that will get a change of Hyuga robes for Naruto, and will leave them in my room. Have I made myself clear?"

The guards stood up and bowed. "Crystal clear Hinata-sama." They then ran off to accomplish their tasks.

Hinata sighed and led Naruto down the halls, who was looking around at the pure luxury of the complex. The well-polished bamboo floors were accentuated by the white walls with the Hyuga crest proudly displayed at regular intervals. Naruto couldn't even count the number of doors they passed, and he was informed earlier that this was one of the smaller buildings that made up the Hyuga complex. It was clear that these people were part of a high society that he could never hope to reach. They eventually stopped in front of a room whose door looked more expensive than Naruto's entire apartment put together. Hinata opened it and brought the blonde inside, quickly closing the door behind her to ensure their privacy.

Naruto up to this point had been completely silent, shocked and slightly afraid of the new Hinata, but silent none the less. He looked around the room and noticed that while it was quite large, it was also very plain. There was hardly any color, and the very large bed had plain beige sheets with a matching beige comforter. There was a single dresser and two nightstands on either side of the bed, which Naruto could only assume was as soft as it was large, and a single vanity stand at the far side of the room.

Naruto turned to Hinata to speak but she didn't give him a chance. "Drop your things by the bed. The shower is through those doors near the back of the room, and I will have a towel brought to you along with a change of clothes. Please hurry though, I want to meet with my father before it gets too late."

Naruto just blinked and nodded, doing as he was instructed and went to cleanse himself. Hinata watched his retreating form disappear behind the door of the bathroom and sighed, flopping herself on her bed and waiting for the clothes she requested.

"What a horrible day… I'm just glad I decided to check up on Naruto when I did or he might have…"

She sat up and shook the thoughts from her head. "No, I can't even think it."

Just then there was a knock on her door, so she lifted herself off the bed. "Enter!"

One of the guards from earlier walked in with a full change of clothes and bowed. "Here is the wardrobe you requested Hinata-sama, and your father is most _excited_ to meet with you."

Hinata laughed as she took the clothes from him. "I'm sure he is. You may return to your post now."

The man bowed. "Hai."

Hinata closed the door and walked towards her bathroom. She could hear the water already running but decided to be courteous and knocked on the door. "Naruto-kun, are you in the shower yet?"

There was a quiet "Hai" from the other side of the door so Hinata opened the door and walked inside. She set the clothes on the sink counter.

"Your clothes are here and there is a towel on the rack."

Naruto froze inside of the shower. "H-Hinata? Are you in the b-bathroom?"

Hinata giggled and slightly blushed, she hadn't even thought about the fact that Naruto was naked on the other side of the shower curtain. "Indeed I am, now please hurry, my father is expecting us."

She walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She sat in front of her mirror and took deep breaths to calm her racing mind. When she looked up at herself she forced herself to steel her nerves.

"You can do this. This is long overdue; be strong Hinata. Be strong for Naruto."

Hinata just sat at the stand looking at herself and going over what she was going to say to her father in several short minutes.

A few minutes later and the shower doors opened, revealing a very different looking Naruto. He looked far more presentable than he ever did in his orange jumpsuit, and the plain colors of black and white did wonders to bring out the contrasting color of his eyes. He wore a black robe with a white sash overtop a smaller white robe. Hinata was amazed at how he was able to pull off the "Hyuga" look so easily. His hair even seemed to have regained some of its sheen, and, though he still looked tired, he no longer looked like a vagabond.

Hinata blushed and walked over to the blonde taking Naruto's hands in her own. "You look much more like the Naruto-kun I know. After the meeting with my father I will take you to the kitchen and get you something to eat, and then we can retire for the night. Does that sound ok?"

Naruto smiled and nodded, prompting Hinata to lead him by the hand out of the room and down the hall towards her father's study.

Naruto looked at each person they passed trying his best to read their faces, and they all just glared back at him. He dropped his head to avoid their gaze, feeling entirely out of place. "Hinata… not that I don't appreciate what you are doing for me, but… why? Why would you go out of your way for someone like me?"

Hinata chuckled and squeezed his hand a little. "It's pretty ironic Naruto-kun; I asked myself something similar about you after the Chunin exams. As for me, well you'll find out soon when we meet with my father."

Naruto didn't argue the rest of the way, and soon enough they stopped in front of yet another a large and expensive-looking door. Hinata slipped her hand out of Naruto's and looked at him.

"Ready yourself Naruto-kun. My father isn't the most pleasant man there is, and he is always trying to find ways to put me down. Just let me handle it, and I promise you everything will be ok."

Naruto nodded. "I trust you Hinata; just let me know if you need anything."

Hinata smiled brightly. "I'm glad you trust me Naruto-kun. Now when we go in there I want you to kneel in front of my father by my side as I do and don't move until the meeting is over. I want you to promise me you won't do anything, no matter what happens."

Naruto looked confused for a moment, but slowly nodded. "I promise."

With a sigh Hinata opened the door and walked inside with Naruto in tow. The two knelt walked to the front of a large wooden desk with a very stern looking man behind it. He had long black hair neatly pulled back behind his head and exuded a serious attitude that almost dared someone to cross him.

Hinata bowed. "Tou-sama."

She looked over to see Naruto bow too. "Hyuga-sama."

Hinata was glad she didn't have to tell Naruto to mind his manners. Hinata let out a breath she had been holding in. 'Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought?' Hinata thought as she knelt down before his desk while Naruto knelt beside her.

"What is the meaning of this Hinata? First you go out past curfew and now you bring _him_ back with you?"

Hinata frowned. 'Maybe not…' "Forgive me Tou-san for breaking curfew, I have no excuse for disobeying your rules and accept any punishment you have."

Hiashi blinked. "Well this is a first. What happened to the stuttering weak little girl who feared to be in my mere presence?"

Hinata looked over to see Naruto's fists clench before she looked back into her father's eyes. "She is gone Tou-san, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't refer to my future husband as 'him'."

Naruto couldn't believe what he just heard. 'Wait… what? What the hell does she mean "future husband"?'

Naruto looked up at the other male in the room and he immediately became tense. It was quite clear that Hiashi was using every ounce of self-control to not show the anger that was obviously bubbling up inside of him, but that didn't mean he wasn't restraining any of his cold aura.

Hiashi took a deep _calming_ breath before proceeding. "I don't believe I have approved of a suitor for you yet Hinata, and you can be sure that it will be a cold day in hell before _he_ is on that list."

Hinata smirked, something she did very rarely. "As heiress I don't believe that a suitor is necessary. I am free to court and be courted as I see fit, and I have already made my decision on the matter."

The older Hyuga smirked back. "Oh? I don't believe I was speaking about Hanabi, as _she_ is the heiress of our clan ever since the pathetic display you put on last month, in front of the entire council no less."

Hinata was waiting for this, in fact this was what her entire strategy was based on. "Then I demand a rematch. At the time I was still injured from my match in the Chunin exams, and you know it. That was hardly a fair fight, even if I _had_ tried. Under Hyuga clan laws anyone from the head family of the main branch may demand a match for the position of heir or heiress respectively."

This was the last straw for Hiashi; he stood up at his desk quickly knocking back his chair. "Enough of this nonsense Hinata! You will return to your room while I have this… this _boy_ escorted out!"

Hinata stood up too with no less confidence. "Don't you dare speak about him that way! If you ever degrade Naruto in my presence I will personally make sure our line ends with me when I become clan head!"

Hiashi saw red and went to teach his daughter respect via a slap to the face. Naruto stood up to stop him, but he was too late. Hiashi's hand never made it to its target. It was stopped inches away from Hinata's face when she caught his wrist, and she immediately began applying pressure, twisting it at an odd angle. Hiashi felt a surge of pain shoot up his arm and was forced back down into his seat by his daughter's vice-like grip.

Hinata released her father's hand. "I will forgive this incident Tou-san, but if you try something like that again I promise the outcome won't be pleasant for you, and for the record my earlier threat stands."

Hinata took a stunned Naruto's hand in hers and walked out of her father's office. At the door Hinata looked over her shoulder and saw Hiashi was at a loss for words while he was nursing his wounded wrist and pride, something that seldom happened to the man.

"I expect a rematch first thing in the morning, and make sure the elders are there. I don't want to have to put on a repeat performance; I would worry about Hanabi's health."

She left the view of her father's gaze and strode down the halls to her room with a blonde in tow. She was silent the entire trip, but she could feel Naruto's gaze on her back. Thankfully he didn't ask any questions during the trip, and they made it back to her room without uttering a single word.

When they were back in the young heiress's room Naruto couldn't contain the questions anymore. "Ok, what was that all about? What do you mean future husband? And why aren't you the heiress anymore?"

Hinata sighed and walked over to her bed, flopping herself down unceremoniously. "Come sit with me Naruto, it'll take some time to explain."

The blonde nodded and strode to her side, awkwardly sitting down with a comfortable distance parting the two. Hinata chuckled at Naruto's nervousness and scooted closer to him.

"Are you scared?"

Hinata looked over at the blonde, who still had his gaze trained on the ground. "Petrified would be the better word. I'm confident that I can beat my sister tomorrow, but it's after that which scares me."

Naruto stared at the ground for a few more moments before he looked over at the Hyuga girl. "So… why me?"

She smiled took his hand in hers. "Naruto, for the longest time you have been my inspiration, my light, my hope. Whenever I felt weak or was about to give up, I pictured your face and managed to find the strength to continue on. I admired you ever since we were children, and from that admiration a crush grew. Over time though my feelings grew more and more intense. I'm not sure when it happened, but over the past few months I finally came to a realization: I love you Naruto; with all my heart I love you, and I want you to be by my side forever."

She looked deep into his eyes and she saw a range of raw emotion flash under the ocean blue color. She saw fear, hesitation, and sadness. She even saw… regret?

Hinata took a deep breath and continued on. "You said you no longer had a purpose, and I told you I would give you one. Do you want to know the purpose I will give you after what you just heard?"

Naruto hesitated, he looked down at the ground for a few seconds. After what felt like an eternity he finally returned her gaze. "Hai, I want to know my new purpose."

Hinata smiled. "You will stay by my side, now and forever. You will support me as I claim my birthright as Hyuga matriarch. You will father my children, and love them with all the love you can find in your heart. In return I will give you a family, I will give you my unconditional love, and I will do everything in my power to ensure your happiness. Can you do this Naruto? Can you live with those roles, and even if you don't love me now, can perhaps give us a chance?"

This was it. Hinata laid herself bare, showing the full depth of her emotion to the only person she ever wanted to be with. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and hide from the world, and every second Naruto didn't answer her tore her heart into smaller and smaller pieces. She didn't know how long Naruto stared at her, but to her it could have been an eternity. She was so sure he would laugh at her, or yell, or just leave, maybe all of the above. She was so busy picturing all the ways this plan could blow up in her face that she didn't hear his response; in fact she only saw his mouth move slightly.

Hinata blinked. "G-Gomen Naruto-kun, can you r-repeat that please?"

Naruto squeezed her hand reassuringly since this was the first time this evening she had stuttered. "I said I would be honored. To the best of my ability I will support you and father our children, giving them all the love I was never given as a child, and even though I can't say that I love you as of right now, I will see if I can."

Hinata couldn't believe her ears. In the span of one evening she had gotten just about everything she had ever wanted since she was a little girl. She just got the love of her life to agree to stay by her side, eventually joining her in holy matrimony and agreeing to father their children. She had never felt such happiness, such utter completion, then at that moment in time.

She began shedding tears of joy, and she latched herself onto Naruto's chest, wrapping her arms around his back. "Naruto… I… I don't know what to say. I, just… Just hold me please, just for a few moments."

Naruto draped his arms around the girl. "Of course, Hinata-hime."

Hinata smiled at his new name for her, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, inhaling as much of his scent as she could. She was realizing her dream, something that she thought would only ever exist in her imagination, one step at a time. The best part was that it was being brought about by her own strength, she was fighting her own battles and overcoming her own obstacles, and she knew it was all because of the blonde holding her.

Just as she was snuggling further and further into his chest she heard a deep rumble. She blinked and sat back up, looking at Naruto.

The blonde scratched his head. "Sorry about that. I haven't eaten anything in a day or two…"

Hinata's eyes widened. "Gomen! I completely forgot to stop by the kitchen!" She stood up and grabbed Naruto's hand. "Come with me, I'll get you something to eat."

She walked him down the halls hand in hand, earning several looks from people they ran into, but no one dared to say anything to them. It would seem news of Hinata's altercation with the guards spread very quickly, and few were willing to cross her, and by extension Naruto.

As they neared the kitchen a boy that looked about their age stepped out from a hallway, and it looked like he would crash with Hinata. Before they met Naruto pulled Hinata's arm back and she flew into his embrace, avoiding the boy. It seemed like this wasn't what the boy expected, as he shot a glare at Naruto as soon as he saw he hadn't crashed into Hinata.

She meanwhile sighed happily being in Naruto's arms, but as soon as she saw who almost ran into her she scowled. "What do you want Modon?"

The now identified Modon smirked at her. "What makes you think I wanted something?"

Hinata shook her head and lead Naruto around Modon as they continued towards the kitchen. As Naruto passed him by the boy grabbed Naruto's shoulder and spun him around.

"And what does a piece of trash like you think you're doing here? You should leave before you taint our good name with your filth."

Naruto shrugged himself out from his grip and kept walking past the boy.

"It figures a pathetic girl such as Hinata hangs out with someone like you. I'm almost upset that I'm going to be betrothed to her next month, _almost_."

Hinata turned to face him and was about to argue with him, but before she could utter a word a yellow-black blur rushed past her and slammed into Modon. Modon's eyes widened as Naruto picked him up by his neck with his right hand and slammed the Hyuga into a nearby wall, forcing the air from his lungs.

Modon looked down at Naruto with a sneer on his face, trying to break the blonde's iron like grip, Naruto just squeezed tighter. Modon clawed at the hand that held his throat, and his vision started to get blurred from a lack of oxygen, but he froze when he looked to Naruto's face and saw blood red eyes with black slits on them.

"You can insult me however much you want, I don't care. But if you say ONE word about Hinata, I'll make sure that the only place you'll feel safe again is in your nightmares."

Modon nodded weakly and was unceremoniously dropped to the floor gasping for breath with a hand massaging his neck. He looked at Hinata, then at Naruto before he shuddered and ran off. Naruto turned to face Hinata, with his red eyes turning back to their normal blue hue.

Hinata smiled sweetly. "While I appreciate you standing up for me Naruto-kun, I need to fight my own battles, or they will never learn."

Naruto bowed to his future wife. "Gomen Hinata-hime, but I can't just let people talk about you like that. You've already done so much for me… By the way, who was that guy?"

Hinata sighed and took Naruto's hand again, leading him into a very large kitchen. She motioned for him to sit down in a chair near a large table while she began to take out several vegetables and a small slab of meat. As she was dicing the ingredients she sighed again and began talking.

"That particular Hyuga is one of the main branch members, my fourth cousin actually on my father's side. He is a rather… unpleasant… boy who has made it a personal goal of his to seduce a number of the branch members. His father is on the council and apparently has told him to turn his attention towards me in an effort to gain more influence in the clan."

Naruto watched Hinata pour the now chopped ingredients into a pot on the stove. "So, he's your cousin right? Wouldn't that be… you know… incest?"

Hinata sighed and poured water into the pot and turned on the heat. "Not many people know this, but over the years the Hyuga clan has taken in less and less outside Shinobi, resulting in more cases of inbreeding. This wasn't an issue when it was only seventh or eighth cousins, but now it seems the family trees are getting closer and closer."

Naruto grimaced. "That's… that's a little gross."

Hinata nodded and added several spices to the pot, closing the lid to keep the heat in. "Yes it is, but unfortunately my father doesn't seem to be willing to change the practice any time soon. It will be one of the first things I change when I become clan head."

Realization flashed across Naruto's mind. "Wait, you mentioned something about elders earlier and now you mentioned something about a Hyuga council, is that like the Konoha council?"

Hinata scowled as she stirred the pot. "Yes, they are. Though they tend to believe they have more power than they actually have. They will be _reminded_ that their authority is much more limited than they believe it is."

Hinata took the wooden spoon out of the pot and replaced the lid. She walked over to Naruto and took his hands in hers again.

"Gomen Naruto-kun. I've asked of you something very selfish. There will be radical changes to the clan, and it isn't very fair that I've brought you in the middle of it. I won't like to you, we will make many enemies along the way and it won't be easy, but if you stay with me I know we can change the Hyuga for the better."

Naruto smiled and took his hands out of hers, wrapping her in a tight and warm hug. "I already promised to be there for you, and I never go back on my promises. That's my-"

"Our ninja way…"

Naruto pulled back and looked at Hinata with an arched eyebrow. She just giggled and returned to the stove to stir the pot. "I told you already Naruto-kun, you've been my inspiration for a long time, so it's only natural that I follow the same nindo as you do."

Naruto sat back down with a grin. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

There was a silence for a few seconds, broken by another rumble from the blonde. Hinata giggled and took out a container of rice from the fridge, left over from dinner earlier that night. She poured the warm curry over two bowls of rice and walked over to Naruto, who was still waiting at the table.

Naruto swallowed the saliva building up in his mouth from the delicious aromas of Hinata's cooking. It was becoming painfully evident that he hadn't eaten in so long, and his body was actually aching for some sort of nourishment.

When Hinata set the bowl in front of him he was so focused on the food in front of him that he didn't notice the girl sit herself next to him.

"Ano… Naruto-kun?"

Naruto used all his willpower not to scarf the food down as he answered her. "Wha… What is it Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blushed slightly and twiddled her fingers slightly. "Well… I was wondering if… If I could… If I could sit next to you and… feed you."

Naruto blinked, that certainly wasn't what he was expecting her to ask. "feed me?"

Hinata nodded. "It's been one of my fantasies for a while now… and I figured now would be a good time… but if you don't want to I understand."

Naruto shook his head and chuckled. "No, it's not that. I just wasn't expecting that was all. Sure, by all means."

Hinata giggled and pulled up a chair to sit next to him. Apparently what Naruto thought she meant was quite accurate, she meant to say sit _on_ him. She had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and she lodged her herself as far into his body as she could. The pair looked more like one blob of a person as opposed to two separate people.

Naruto was not used to this close contact, and a tinge of pink flared through his face, making Hinata laugh. Their positions had been thoroughly reversed; now it was Naruto who was embarrassed while Hinata made the steady advances. Hinata broke apart a pair of chopsticks and got a beef tip with a fair amount of rice and brought it up to Naruto's mouth. He opened up and graciously accepted the food in front of his face. Then he did the same for Hinata, taking his time and enjoying the experience and closeness.

They went back and forth, taking turns until the entire meal was finished.

"Wow Hinata-chan, that was amazing! I never knew you could cook like that. I can't wait to try some of your other cooking!"

Hinata basked in the praise, reveling in the bliss of his acknowledgment, and was about to respond until a presence made herself known behind them.

"Nee-san, what is this about a match tomorrow morning?"

Hinata immediately frowned and sighed. "Gomen Naruto-_koi_, but we should retire for the night. I have a busy day tomorrow."

Naruto looked at Hanabi's angry expression and back to his future wife. For some reason whenever he thought of a future with Hinata he felt happiness bubble up from the pit of his stomach. He felt that he could easily get used to a life with her.

"I understand Hinata-hime."

Hinata stood up and took the two bowls to the sink, leaving them for the morning for cleaning. Waiting behind her was Naruto, who took her hand in his and let her lead him out the kitchen. Hinata smiled at the contact, happy that this time Naruto was the one to initiate the hand holding.

The whole time Hanabi was looking at the pair with mixed feelings. One on hand she was perturbed that she was woken up in the middle of the night by her father just to be told she was going to have to have a spar with her sister in the early morning. This was normal, since they had been sparing against each other for many years now, but what confused her was that this was a spar to determine the heiress of the clan.

She sat up in bed and blinked several times, thinking that she was still partly asleep and had misheard him, but when she asked him to repeat what he said she discovered that she heard correctly. When she asked why this matter wasn't settled when she had won a spar several weeks prior she was informed that 'certain circumstances have come to light that requires a rematch'.

Now she was upset because she had planned morning training with an elder to help her refine several of her clan techniques, and now she had to waste her time humiliating her sister. When she finally found the source of her anger, she found her basically on the lap of a blonde haired boy feeding each other. It was the same boy who had beaten her cousin Neji in the Chunin Exams several days prior, so she had some respect for him, but she still knew nothing about him other than the fact that he was a clan-less orphan; a loser.

And now her sister was being _friendly_ with this loser. "Nee-san, must you continuously drag our name through the mud by associating with this no name orphan? If you feel the need for companionship then ask for someone from a _respectful_ background so the rest of the Hyuga aren't forced to share in your shame."

Hinata was walking past her sister when she froze. She looked back at her sister and was about to yell, scream, or do something, but she felt a squeeze on her hand. She looked over her shoulder at Naruto, who had a lone tear falling down his face and he shook his head.

Hinata sighed and turned back to walk out of the kitchen. "Come Naruto-kun, lets head back to my room so we can get some sleep."

Hanabi snorted. "First you let that trash in our home, then you let him in your bed? You clearly have no shame _sister_ if you are willing to let that… that _filth_ defile you."

Naruto wasn't quick enough to prevent Hinata's next action, though deep down he was cheering at what happened. Quick as lightning Hinata spun around, bringing her hand to rain down on her sister's cheek.

'_SLAP!'_

The force of the hit sent Hanabi reeling into the counter several feet back, and she brought her hand up in shock. Her sister had never truck her before, even inside of a spar! Hanabi saw red, and she was about to retaliate, but she was immediate blasted by a wave of pure unadulterated rage, all focused on herself.

She looked up in fear at her sister, shaking in anger. "Hanabi… I don't know what caused you to become so hostile and conceited, but I don't give a damn. If you _ever_ insult Naruto in front of me, I will make sure to bring every single one of your nightmares to life."

Hinata retook Naruto's hand in hers and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Hanabi slouched against the counter. Hinata suddenly stuck her face back inside, with the same rage on her face.

"And I wouldn't have anyone else in the entire world besides Naruto _defile_ me, and if you don't like that… well I don't give a _damn_ if you like that or not."

Hinata then left the room for good in the presence of a furiously blushing blonde leaving Hanabi with her mouth wide opened.

As they were walking back to the room Hinata sighed and looked at Naruto, who looked just as he did when she found him in his apartment, dead.

"Naruto-kun, don't believe for a second anything she just said. She is just upset, she didn't mean it."

Naruto looked at her, then looked down at the ground. "But she's _right._ I am just a no name orphan that only got taken care of out of pity from Jiji. I can't let you drag yourself down for me, I'm not worth it… It would be better if I hmmpf!"

Hinata got tired of him degrading himself so she shut him up the best way she knew how, by placing her lips over his and stopping him mid-sentence. Naruto instinctually pulled back from the contact, but Hinata had grabbed the front of the blonde's robes, pulling him forward and keeping the kiss ongoing. Naruto just reveled in the feeling of his first kiss, pleasantly surprised with Hinata's boldness. He couldn't get over how soft they felt, how moist they were on his own, and how right it felt overall.

After what seemed like an eternity for Naruto, and not long enough for Hinata, the Hyuga girl pulled back sighing happily.

Hinata's eyes fluttered open and she smiled at Naruto's bewildered expression. "Are you better yet?"

Naruto could only dumbly nod.

"Good. Now, I don't want you to hear you ever put yourself down like that again. You gave me your promise that you would stay with me, so you aren't allowed to leave me, ever."

Naruto nodded again. "Sorry Hinata… I… I really don't deserve you…"

Hinata took his hand in hers and led him down the hall to her room. "No Naruto-kun, you are the _only_ one who deserves me, and you are the only one who will ever have me."

Naruto just felt happy for some reason. He didn't know why, maybe it was just him being possessive, but the reassurance of Hinata promising herself to him and him only made him feel more happy than if he was declared Hokage at that exact moment. It was because he had finally found what he was searching for all his life, love. He had found in this formerly shy, dark, quiet girl all the love and acceptance that he could ever want.

When they got back in her room she took her hand out of his and walked over to her dresser, leaving Naruto standing at the door. She took off her beige jacket and let it fall to the floor, showing her black undershirt, which she also took off leaving her only in her purple lacy bra and pants. It became painfully clear that Hinata was definitely an early bloomer, and she didn't show any signs of slowing down.

Naruto's eyes slowly widened, trapped in the trance of watching Hinata strip. He knew he should turn around and give her some privacy, but he just couldn't find the willpower to turn away.

"You can look Naruto-kun, I don't mind."

Naruto jumped and blushed with wide eyes. Hinata looked over her shoulder and giggled at his nervousness. She undid the button on her pants and turned around towards Naruto as her pants fell to her ankles revealing her matching purple lacy panties.

Naruto sucked in a breath, face red and flushed as his eyes unconsciously traveled over her semi-naked form. Hinata walked over to the blonde and hugged him, being made aware of his growing arousal as she brought her head up to whisper in his ear.

"Naru-koi, we can't sleep if you are still fully clothed."

She kissed his cheek and detached herself, walking over to her bed and sliding under the covers. She sat up in her bed and patted the sheets next to her, signaling the blonde to begin moving again.

Naruto blinked several times, snapping back to reality and blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry Hinata-chan…"

She giggled. "For what? I already told you that you are the only one who will ever have me, so why would I get made if you look at me? Besides, it's flattering to think that I am able to make you excited."

Naruto shyly smiled and took off his robes, leaving him only in his burnt orange boxers. Hinata would have laughed if she wasn't looking at him in nothing but his underwear, and even though he was still young and had much growing to do, she knew he would definitely grow into his body well.

Naruto grinned at Hinata when he caught her staring. "Like what you see?"

The Hyuga decided to play along. "Oh yes, very much so."

The blonde's grin dropped and he blushed in embarrassment, rubbing his arms. "Th… Thanks… Look Hinata-chan… I know you like me a lot… but I'm not sure I…"

Hinata smiled. "Naruto. I'm not going to pressure you into anything you aren't ready to do. That involves everything from holding hands to consummating our relationship. I love you, and nothing will ever change that, I'd be happy waiting until marriage if that is what you want to do."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the bed, getting under the covers with his fiancé. The fact that he was able to say that still brought a smile to his face. He sat up and leaned over to kiss her lovingly, spurned on when Hinata threw her arms around his neck.

He thought back to the events of the day. Hinata saved him from the depths of his despair after he lost the only person he could ever think of as a family, and gave him a whole new reason to live. She brought him into her home and faced her fears just to give him a place to live. She even fought with her sister just to defend his honor! And now she was telling him that she was going to let _him_ set the pace of the relationship? It was just so much raw love that it was almost overwhelming, and it was everything Naruto had ever wanted.

"Thank you Hinata-chan. I don't know but… I… I think… I think that I might love you too."

A tear fell from Hinata's eye and her eye lids lowered slightly. She smiled, a smile that she poured all of her happiness into, and she threw herself against Naruto's chest and linked her arms around his back. Naruto rested his head on hers and hugged her back. He noticed she was shaking slightly, and was about to ask her what was wrong until she began talking between sobs.

"Naruto… I… I don't know what to say… I… can't tell you how happy I am. This day has… been one of the best of my… entire life. You can't leave me… you can't ever leave me! I won't ever be happy… without you!"

Naruto chuckled and held her closer. "I wouldn't ever dream of it."

**END**

**Well, hope you all enjoyed it. Some fluff and some promise of action.**

**Tell me what you think via review or pm, dont really care which.**

**Peace**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello again everyone and welcome back.**

**I am very happy with the reception the first chapter got and im very happy that so many people loved the story. I had a few people raise concerns and i thought i would address them here.**

**First, I would like everyone to put themselves in this position. You have no one. No one has ever cared about you and no one has given you the time of day save for a handful of people. Then, one day, the one person that has ever given you love was killed. That would be one hell of a depression. Then, right before you do the unthinkable someone stops you and claims they have loved you for a while now. On top of that, they PROVE that they love you by standing up to their family and facing their fears only for you. If all that were to happen i believe it IS**** possible for things to progress fast enough to where what happened in the first chapter is plausible. I mean, there are people who claim love at first sight without knowing anything about each other, so yeah, i think it CAN happen. After all, experts say that it only takes a matter of hours for someone to fall in love, so yeah. Plus its a fanfic about people who spit fire from their mouth, so nothing should really be surprising to anyone...**

**I also had several comments about Hinata's OCC nature, well, its a fanfic about Hinata's wet dream... not literally of course, but its about everything she would or could ever want, so yeah, she gets a little more daring as the fic progresses. What im going for is for a role reversal. Naruto becomes more introverted while Hinata comes out of her shell.**

**There were also concerns about Jiraiya, well, he has his own mourning to do, so if i were in his position i would try to deal with my own emotions and make sure im ok first before i would even be able to help anyone, but dont worry, he's coming.**

**A lot to say in the notes so far... sorry about that... i know most people will just skip over all this crap, but i dont blame you, i would too.**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto**

**_Chapter 2_**

Naruto woke up in a strange bed, a very comfortable and warm bed, but strange none the less. He looked around the room, trying to remember where he was. Then his gaze settled on a mass of indigo hair resting on his chest, suddenly all the memories came rushing back.

'So now I'm Hinata's fiancé, I'm going to be part of her clan, and I'm going to father her children.'

Naruto just stared up at the ceiling for several minutes just letting it all sink in. That's when the panicking started.

'What if she gets bored of me? What if she begins to love someone else, will she just throw me out? Oh Kami what if her clan kills me!? What if the new Hokage exiles me for corrupting the Hyuga heiress!?'

These thoughts and many others raced through his mind, and he began sweating bullets just thinking about it. Little did he know that his increased heart rate and breathing would wake up the girl laying on him. She let out a tired yawn and snuggled deeper into his chest.

"Mmmmmm, Naruto-koi… it's too early… go back to bed."

Naruto blushed when he realized that she was still in only her underwear, and then he remembered what she told him last night.

'That's right… She made me promise never to leave her, so that means she won't ever leave me… She's my new reason for living, to love and support her and our future children. I don't think that sounds too bad at all, I mean, I could end up alone for the rest of my life, or end up in a failed loveless marriage, or even be cheated on. At least with her I know that at least _she_ loves me.'

He smiled gingerly and rubbed the top of her head slowly, brushing the bangs out of her face, and he was amazed at how soft her hair was. He saw Hinata smile with her eyes still closed, and she let out a small yawn that made reminded Naruto of a kitten, cute and adorable. After a few minutes more she finally pushed herself up and rubbed her now open eyes. She bent forward and gave Naruto a chaste peck on the lips.

"Morning Naru-koi."

Naruto couldn't help but smile, every action Hinata did made Naruto realize more and more just how much he loved her.

"Morning 'Nata."

Hinata looked at him with a huge grin, and she just stared at him for several seconds longer than he thought was normal.

"What?"

She grinned larger. "Nothing, I'm just thinking about the nickname."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Well, you gave me a nick name so I thought I should give you one too… but if you don't like it I guess I could just call you by your name."

Hinata shook her head. "No, I love it. I really do."

Naruto chuckled. "Good, because I'm not that creative and I wouldn't have been able to come up with anything else."

Hinata giggled and kissed him again, wrapping her arms around his neck to deepen the contact. Naruto responded, and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her closer. His hands rubbed up and down her back while Hinata made it more and more passionate. They locked lips for several seconds, being content in the love they were showing each other. They could both feel warmth spread throughout their bodies, and it seemed like the room got a few degrees warmer as they continued to kiss. Naruto then felt something rub against his bottom lip.

'Wha… Is that her tongue?'

Naruto opened his mouth to ask her what was rubbing against his lips, but that is exactly what Hinata was waiting for. She shot her tongue in his mouth, causing Naruto's eyes to shoot open while he let out a surprised gasp as he felt her explore his mouth.

'I never knew Hinata could be this… forceful…'

Hinata closed her eyes and only focused on the taste and feel of the blonde boy. She ran her hands though his hair, tugging at it while she pushed him back on the bed. She could feel her body getting hot, and it was driving her insane. She brought her leg over his waist so she was straddling him, and she was made painfully aware of his excitement. She was rapidly losing control.

'I… I can't hold it in anymore… I want him… I _need_ him!'

She began grinding against him while moaning into the kiss; it felt so good to finally feel him intimately after all this time. Naruto couldn't stop the groans coming from his chest; it was just too stimulating, especially when he felt his boxers get more and more wet from Hinata's grinding on his member. He knew she was ready, but he also knew that they shouldn't be doing this yet, they were too young, not to mention he had always thought he would wait till he was married, or close to it. Deciding to break it off before he lost control Naruto pulled back from her panting for breath.

"W… Wait 'Nata… Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Hinata looked very disappointed and opened her mouth to speak, but then she saw the uncertainty in his eyes, and it looked like he was… scared? She knew just from looking at him that he wasn't ready for this, and she suddenly felt ashamed of herself. She got off him and turned away from him, looking down at the ground.

"Gomen Naruto… I promised you that I wouldn't pressure you into anything you weren't ready for, and not a day later I break that promise… I don't know what came over me… I… Gomen…"

Naruto couldn't stand seeing her sad, especially since he was the cause. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his head on her shoulder.

"It's ok 'Nata, I… I just need a little more time alright?"

He felt Hinata nod slowly; he could tell she still felt bad. "Hey, 'Nata?"

"Yeah?"

He lifted up his head and turned her head so she was looking at him.

"I know that this is all new to me, but you know that you are very important to me, right? No matter what, that fact wont change."

She finally smiled, making Naruto smile right back at her. He gave her a quick kiss before bringing her into a warm loving embrace. They held each other for what felt like forever, and when Naruto finally pulled back, he just looked at Hinata's face.

"I don't know why I never saw you before, but you really are beautiful, and I never want to see tears stain your face, no matter what."

Hinata smiled at the compliment and wiped the stray tears from her eyes. "Yesterday… I… I tried; I tried so hard to be so strong like you. You never let anything drag you down; you never let anything keep you down. You would always get back up and just try harder, and your bravery gave me the strength to keep going. You were the strongest person I ever knew, and by just being you, I was able to still be me."

Naruto took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "I was never as strong as you thought I was… I always doubted myself, but I could never show it out of fear of what would happen if I let myself fall. I bottled up my sadness for so long, and yesterday it just all came bursting out. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up, but it scares me to think about how far into the darkness I had fallen, and I know I never want to feel like that again. Besides, you have always been strong! All your life you've shouldered all your hardships and pushed through the hurt and pain to get where you are today. You're a beautiful woman, you're an amazing person, and you're a dangerously skilled Kunoichi."

A single tear of happiness fell down Hinata's face, and she pulled Naruto into another hug, where they stayed, just enjoying the feeling of one another's presence. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and a knock at the door was that end.

"Hinata-sama, your presence is required in the dojo for the spar you requested."

Hinata pulled herself back and walked over to her dresser to get clothes. "Hai, I shall be there momentarily."

Hinata got out a pair of black shinobi pants, a tighter black shirt, and a long strip of cloth to bind herself with. As she walked into the bathroom she paused when she saw Naruto staring at her with wide eyes.

She arched a curious eyebrow at him. "What? You saw me in my underwear last night, so it's a little late to be embarrassed _now_."

Naruto blushed and shook his head. "It's not that, it's just that I can't believe you're wearing something besides your huge beige coat. I swear you could hide the whole Hokage monument in that massive eskimo jacket."

Hinata giggled and set him a playful glare. "Real funny Naru-koi. I guess since I'm too busy hiding in my jacket all the time I won't be able to make you food anymore." She walked towards the bathroom again.

Naruto paled and held up his hand to stop her. "Wait! I was just kidding! I'm sorry! I won't joke about your clothes anymore, just please don't take away your delicious cooking!"

The girl just smiled sweetly. "Apology accepted, just remember that teasing the hand that feeds you isn't a very smart decision, not to mention that I'm your fiancé, so when you _are_ ready to take our relationship to the next level, well, I might just be too tired then." Naruto realized at that moment that all of Shikamaru's rants about how women were 'troublesome' were spot on, but he forgot to mention how terrifying they could be. "Now hurry up and get dressed in one of the robes I had brought yesterday, I want you to be there when I retake my birthright."

With that she walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Naruto fell back on the bed arms spread wide and staring up at the ceiling. A shiver went down his spine.

"I never knew she could be so scary… There is so much about her that I don't know, but I have the rest of my life to learn…"

The blonde sat up and jumped off the bed, grabbing the robes laying on the dresser and a fresh pair of underwear out of his duffle bag. He sent a glance towards the bathroom door to make sure Hinata was still occupied inside, and satisfied that he had enough time he lowered his orange boxers and slipped on another pair of burnt orange boxers. He then dressed in a similar manner as the day before, tying his Hitai-ate around his forehead.

He studied his image in the mirror, and was surprised to see how regal he looked. Without the bright orange jumpsuit, which he left back at his apartment, he looked surprisingly official, well, as official as a thirteen year old could look. He was too busy checking out his new look that he never noticed the door to the bathroom open, so he was jumped a little when he felt two arms wrap around him from the back and link over his chest.

He smiled and placed his hands on Hinata's, who put her chin on his shoulder, looking at him in the mirror. "You're so handsome Naru-koi. I know for a fact that if we went back to the academy with you looking like that you would have a fan club that dwarfed Sasuke's."

Naruto chuckled. "That wouldn't matter, because I would only ever have eyes for you."

Hinata was pleased with his comment, but there was still one question that bugged her. "What about Sakura?"

The blonde sighed and held Hinata's hands tighter. "Whatever I felt towards her was unhealthy, and I realized that early on in the academy. I just wanted attention, I _needed_ it, and in some twisted way I was able to confirm my existence in her rejections, and I never knew any better because I was lead to believe I would always be alone. I wish I had found you back then 'Nata, I really do."

Hinata kissed him on the cheek before taking his hand in hers and began walking towards her door. "Well the important thing is that we're here now, so let's just focus on the future?"

Naruto didn't respond with words, he just gave her hand a squeeze as they left her room. Waiting outside for them was none other than Neji, Hinata's cousin who Naruto defeated in the Chunin Exam Finals.

The boy bowed. "Hinata-sama, Naruto-san."

Naruto looked at Hinata's face, and he saw she was just as surprised as he was.

"Neji-niisan, what are you doing here?"

Neji stood back up and smiled, a genuine smile. "Hiashi-sama has ordered me to retrieve you for your spar against Hanabi-sama. The entire council has been assembled to witness the spar." At this Neji frowned. "Hinata-sama, I know that we have had our differences in the past, and for that I want to apologize, but I truly wish for you to reconsider. I don't want to see you get hurt, or worse, be put in the branch family."

Hinata pulled Naruto forward so he was shoulder to shoulder with her. "I appreciate the sentiments Neji-niisan, but you don't have to worry about me. I won't be defeated by Hanabi today, because today I'm not fighting for myself, I'm fighting for the entire Hyuga clan, and most importantly, I'm fighting for Naruto-koi."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Naruto-_koi_?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Naruto is now my fiancé, and he will be at my side with our children as I bring the Hyuga out of the past."

To confirm her statement Naruto kissed Hinata on the cheek, causing her to show a slight blush.

Neji looked contemplative for a few seconds, looking back and forth between the two, and just as Naruto was about to say something Neji bowed.

"Although I don't know anything about you, I know that deep within you have a strong sense of duty and loyalty, and I believe that if anyone was suited to stand at Hinata-sama's side as clan head, you would definitely be the best, Naruto-sama"

Naruto blinked several times with an open mouth, unsure of what to say. He looked over at Hinata for help, but only saw her giggling at his expression. Finally Naruto was able to come out of his stupor.

"Neji, please just call me Naruto… I'm not anyone special who needs a formality like that."

Before anyone could say anything else Hinata gave a tug at Naruto's arm. "Let's go Naruto-koi, Neji-niisan, I really don't want this affair to spill over past lunch time."

Naruto chuckled while Neji gave her a smirk, and they both followed Hinata down the winding hallways until they reached the Hyuga's main dojo, reserved only for the main branch family. Hinata gripped Naruto's hand harder and opened the door, and immediately over two dozen pairs of eyes fell upon the trio.

Hiashi looked at Hinata with a smirk, but his smirk immediately faded when he saw the union of Naruto and Hinata's hands.

"I trust that you are ready for your spar Hinata? The council has been assembled as requested, but there has been an added stipulation for this spar. If you win you will be reinstated as heiress."

There were several around the room who were chuckling, finding that outcome strangely humorous.

"If you should lose however… you would be forced to accept whichever fate the Hyuga council bestows upon you, whether that be forced marriage or sealing. Understood?"

Hinata nodded. "I am not worried about the latter half of this spar, let's just get this over with. Just know that the victor will decide the fate of the loser."

Hiashi stared at his eldest daughter for a few seconds before finally averting his gaze. "Uzumaki, you are to join me at my side at watch this match. Neji, you may stay by the door."

Both boys nodded and moved to go to their positions, but before Naruto could remove his hand from Hinata's, she pulled his arm back. He couldn't control his momentum and went flying into her embrace, where her lips were waiting. She moved her hands up to his cheeks where she gave him a kiss full of passion. Naruto couldn't help but wonder why Hinata would initiate such a public display of affection, but after a few seconds he honestly couldn't care.

When they finally broke apart Hinata sighed happily. "For luck."

Naruto smiled and went to his spot by Hiashi. While he walked he stole glances around the room, and he could see a range of emotions on the faces of the older Hyuga's, ranging from disgust to anger. He smirked when he realized that Hinata's main goal with that kiss was to rile up the Hyuga elders, and from their expressions he could deduce that she fulfilled that did just that.

When Naruto was finally kneeling by Hiashi's side the Hyuga nodded to one of the elders. "Gōman, if you would."

Naruto looked at this so named 'Gōman' and realized he looked a lot like that boy Modon from the other day. 'Gōman must be that boy's father… And he's trying to marry off Hinata like she's some object to be traded or bought.'

Naruto unconsciously began squeezing his hands into fists, and it wasn't until he felt a trickle of liquid that he realized that he was drawing blood. He wiped his hands off on the mat he was kneeling on and steeled his focus on the two girls in front of him.

Gōman walked to the middle of the room between Hinata and Hanabi. "This will be a spar to the point where one of the contestants is unable to continue or one yields. No lethal strikes are allowed, and no outside ninjutsu besides that centered on the Juken techniques are allowed. Do both contestants understand the rules of this spar?"

There were two "Hai's" and the elder lowered his hand between them.

They both settled in the signature Juken stances with Byakugans active. Naruto could tell from Hinata's face that she was focused solely on the opponent in front of her, her concentration blocking out any other disturbance. Hinata held no emotion in her face; it was the perfect Hyuga mask of blankness. Hanabi on the other hand could do little to control the massive smirk that spilled across her face. Whether it be arrogance of confidence, Hanabi believed she would win this spar without very much difficulty.

Gōman threw his arm up and took a few steps back. "Hajime!"

Hanabi flew forward, bringing her left arm down on Hinata's shoulder with her two forefingers extended, chakra blazing around the fingertips. Just before they made contact Hinata swatted it away with the back of her right hand and threw her left hand forward, slamming it into Hanabi's gut. Hanabi fell to her knees while Hinata took a few steps back.

"That was for calling Naruto-koi trash last night. Now get up, I'm not through with you yet."

Hanabi looked up at her sister, slightly frightened. She had never seen Hinata so aggressive before; she was nothing like the shy older sister she used to have, and Hanabi sent a glare towards the source of the change, the blonde haired boy sitting next to her father.

'It's all your fault! If you would have just stayed away from Hinata none of this would be happening!'

Hanabi made her way to her feet and charged her sister once again, more cautious this time. She sent a thrust towards Hinata's thigh with her left arm, and she waited for Hinata to block it. Just like Hanabi thought she would, Hinata brought her right hand to swat the arm away once again, but Hanabi used a feint and twisted, bringing her right hand down to strike at Hinata's left shoulder.

'I'll take out your arm, then we'll see how well you can fight!'

Just as the strike was about to land, Hinata dropped her shoulder and ducked under the hit, spinning on the tips of her toes she spun her right arm around like a pivot and delivered a chakra reinforced backhanded slap to Hanabi's face, sending her sprawling across the floor.

"_That_ was for calling Naruto-koi an orphan."

Hanabi spit out a small wad of blood on the floor and stood back up on shaky legs. This time she let Hinata come to her.

'I just need to calm down and anticipate her attacks. There is no way she can beat me, she's never beaten me before and I'm not about to start letting her now.'

After a few seconds Hinata charged forward, and Hanabi sent a strike with her right arm at where she knew Hinata was going to attack from.

'Got you bitch! Try and dodge this!'

She stared in horror as Hinata dance around her strike and began closing the tenketsu in the extended arm. Hanabi tried to strike her back by bringing up her left arm to hit Hinata blow for blow, but Hinata ducked under the appendage. Hinata was now at Hanabi's side, closing the tenketsu in her only good arm. When Hinata finished her onslaught she jumped back, letting Hanabi's arms fall unmoving to her side.

Hinata settled down into the Juken stance again. "Yield Hanabi, you can't win now. Don't make this drag on any longer."

Hanabi shook her head in disbelief, then saw red as a rage consumed her. "SHUT UP! Who the hell do you think you are!? You've always been the weak one, and yet Tou-san always looked to you to prove yourself! He never gave a damn about me even though I showed more talent that you ever did! And now that I finally gained his recognition and became the heiress you decide to just waltz in here take it back!? Fuck you!"

There were several gasps around the room from the colorful language the small girl in front of them was using. Several elders were looking around at each other with their mouths open in shock, and it was clear they no longer wanted her to be the one responsible for negotiating with others on behalf of all Hyuga.

Gōman stepped forward, almost not believing the words about to come out of his mouth. "H-Hanabi-sama is u-unable to continue. H-Hinata-sama is the victor, and as per the rules of the spar, she is now… once again the heiress of the Hyuga clan…"

Hanabi looked at the elder in disbelief, and then looked around the room for someone to tell her that this was all a bad joke. When they all averted their gaze she finally looked at her father, who shook his head and walked out of the room accompanied by the rest of the elders. Hanabi fell to her knees and began sobbing, tears flowing down her face.

Neji looked over at Hinata who returned his gaze. The boy gave a small smile before he walked over to Hanabi's side.

"Hanabi-sama, come, let's go to the infirmary so we can get your tenketsu opened back up."

The girl gave no resistance as she was lifted to her feet and led out of the room, leaving only two back in the dojo.

Hinata watched the door close behind her, and she let out a sigh. She was about to turn around to look at her fiancé when she felt to arms wrap around her, and a weight come down on her shoulder. She started giggling when some of Naruto's hair began tickling her ear.

"'Nata, that was amazing. I've never seen you more focused, determined, or passionate than you were in those few minutes when you showed your strength to the entire Hyuga council today. I've never been more proud of anyone in my entire life."

Hinata sighed happily and melted into his embrace as her eyes closed. "Thank you Naru-koi, but I'm afraid it will only get more difficult from here on out. This was only the first step in bringing about the dawn of the new Hyuga clan."

Naruto lifted his head up and kissed her cheek. "And I'll be here every step of the way."

Hinata smiled and just laid against him for several minutes, basking in the comfort that only Naruto could bring her and enjoying the peace and quiet for what it was. Once again, their moment was ruined by a noise that originated in the depths of Naruto's stomach.

_Gurgle_

Naruto chuckled. "Sorry about that, I usually have something to eat when I wake up."

Hinata smiled and walked out of his embrace. She grabbed his hand and led him out of the room. "Well then, how about we go get some lunch then?"

Naruto swallowed the water in his mouth and nodded. "Sounds great! Where did you have in mind?"

The girl giggled. "It's a secret, but I know for a fact that you'll love it."

She led him towards the entrance of the compound, only stopping to put on their sandals before they left. When they walked out the door Naruto cast a glance towards the guards, who stood at attention and paled a little when they saw Hinata and her blonde fiancé, but the girl gave no indication that she was even aware of their presence.

Naruto smiled, not used to being treated as anything other than a disease, a plague that haunted the streets of Konoha and avoided as such. Being treated with respect, though fearful respect, was something he would have to get used to.

The two walked hand in hand, with their heads resting on each other's as they strolled down the streets. Naruto wasn't paying much attention to anything other than the girl next to him, so he was pleasantly surprised when they came to a stop in front of his favorite ramen stand.

Naruto grinned and looked at his Hyuga companion. "I never knew you liked ramen 'Nata."

Hinata shrugged. "I like it, though I'm not as _enthusiastic_ about it as you are."

Naruto just laughed and hugged the girl tightly. "You're the best 'Nata."

He let her go and led her by the hand into the stand and sat on one of the stools. "Oi, Teuchi-jiji, a bowel of miso please!"

Hinata sat on the stool next to him. "Make that two please!"

From the back they could hear pots and pans being moved around. "Coming right up! I had already started; I knew you would be around here soon so I decided to be preemptive!"

Hinata giggled and looked at Naruto, who just shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a creature of habit."

Hinata just smiled and shook her head as an older man walked out from the back with two large bowls. There was a salty aroma coming from the bowls that made the mouth water just from smelling it. Surprisingly, Naruto was waiting until Hinata was ready to eat before he began himself, something that he never did, and it raised several flags with the old ramen maker.

Teuchi raised an eyebrow. "Ok, who are you and what have you done with Naruto? He would have already been half way finished with the noodles by now."

Naruto chuckled and sent a glance at Hinata. "Well, I guess I had to grow up a bit"

He put a small wad of noodles in his mouth and began to chew; savoring the way the broth complemented the noodles oh so perfectly. The noodles themselves were cooked just right, not too chewy from being overcooked but also not hard from being undercooked. The snow peas and bamboo shoots mixed in complemented the chewiness of the noodles just right, adding that extra crunch to the soft texture of the dish. Overall, Naruto felt that he could live solely on ramen for the rest of his life, but he knew that it would be bad for his health, since he's already tried to.

Naruto swallowed the food and looked back up at the chef. "Once again, you have outdone yourself Teuchi-jiji, it's delicious!"

Hinata swallowed her bite and nodded her agreement. "Yes, this is wonderful Teuchi-san, thank you!"

The ramen chef laughed. "Well, it's always good to know my hard work is appreciated. Now, Naruto, what's with the new look? I can't say it looks bad, definitely an improvement from that orange jumpsuit you used to wear."

Naruto feigned hurt. "What? I thought you said it made me look dashing?"

Teuchi chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, it was very dashing, but it wasn't exactly ninja-like. I mean, it can't be very easy to blend in to your surroundings when you stand out from the scenery like that."

Naruto mumbled something about 'traitorous ramen chefs' as he ate another wad of noodles. "Well, to answer your question, I… uhh… Well, Hinata and I… we…"

Teuchi smiled at the blonde and patted the blonde on his shoulder. "You managed to get yourself a girlfriend did ya? I'm so proud of you! *Sniff* They grow up so fast… *Sniff*" He looked over at Hinata. "Make sure you take good care of him now ok? He means well, but he can be a little dense about some things, especially when it comes to what he eats."

Hinata chuckled. "I know, I made sure I made him something nutritious last night."

At this time Ayame walked out from the back, having overheard Hinata's last statement. "Wait… did you two spend the night together?"

Hinata smiled and nodded, while Naruto paled, he's had more than one talk with Ayame about treating a girl right, and he didn't like the look she was giving him.

Naruto began waving his arms to calm the ramen chef. "But we didn't do anything! I promise! We just slept in the same bed, that's it!"

Ayame narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Good. I'm glad to hear that you at least somewhat paid attention to all those talks we had. You shouldn't be doing those kinds of things until you are really committed to one another."

Naruto sighed a breath of relief. "Trust me, I know. Besides, we are already pretty committed, I mean, the only step we have left is marriage. I mean, she _is_ my fiancé"

Hinata smiled and leaned on Naruto's shoulder, having finished her meal while Naruto was busy defending himself. She didn't think she would ever get tired of hearing that she was going to marry her childhood crush; it was like one of her many late-night dreams, except it was actually becoming a reality.

Ayame's mouth fell open and Teuchi dropped the pot he was carrying. "Wait, you two are engaged!? When did this happen!?"

Naruto took another bite of his meal and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, just last night I guess."

Suddenly Ayame was right in front of Naruto and Hinata with stars in her eyes. "So how did you do it!? Did you take her to dinner first? Oh! I bet you took her on a picnic and popped the question as the sun was setting, ohhh, that is so romantic! I heard from some of my friends that the girl never forgets the night when she gets proposed too, they say its magical."

Naruto was trying to come up with something to say, but it was Hinata who responded. "Sorry Ayame-san, but Naruto never proposed to me. I asked him to be my husband"

Naruto looked down into his half-eaten bowl of ramen. 'I can't believe I never even thought about proposing… I took away what was supposed to be one of the best memories of her life…'

Ayame looked at Naruto's sullen look and patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Naruto, I just assumed… I didn't mean anything by it, I know that you two are going to be happy together no matter what. Some silly little thing like proposing doesn't really matter. What matters is each other right?"

Naruto looked down at Hinata, and he bent down to kiss her on the head as she giggled. "You're right, what matters is that we are happy with each other."

'But I WILL do this right someday soon, I'll make sure it's a night she'll never forget.'

Ayame couldn't help but smile at how happy the two looked. "So tell me everything, how did it happen?"

Naruto took another bite. "Well, it first started last night when I got home and she came to my apartment and-"

"NARUTO-BAKA!"

Naruto and Hinata leaned up and turned around to see a fuming Sakura, an annoyed Sasuke, and a confused Kakashi.

Naruto sighed and took out a few Ryo notes, and set them on the counter. He could tell the he would most likely not be able to finish his meal.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

Sakura was red with rage. "What's up? What's up!? We spent the entire morning looking for _you_, and when we finally find you you're stuffing your face with ramen!"

Kakashi put his hand on Sakura's shoulder to calm her down. "What your team mate is trying to say is that we were worried about you, and we couldn't find you anywhere. I remember telling you to meet us for training at 8 this morning but you didn't show, so you have to understand why we are a little upset with you."

Naruto was balling his fists in anger. 'They were _worried_ huh? Well if they were so _worried_ then where were they last night when I needed someone!? Where were they when I was about to do something really stupid!? The only person who cared enough to check on me was Hinata, and they have the _gall_ to tell me there were _worried_!?'

Naruto felt a delicate hand over his, and he looked over at Hinata, who was giving him a reassuring smile. Naruto took his hand in hers and stood up from the booth.

"I'm sorry for _worrying_ you all, but I had a lot happen and I couldn't make it to training." He gave a half-hearted smile to the three and turned to face Hinata. "Come on 'Nata, let's go."

Before anyone could say anything else a swirl of leaves indicated the arrival of another person. When the leaves subsided Naruto spotted a familiar white-haired older man.

"Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya glared at Naruto and whacked him outside the head. "How many times do I have to tell you, stop calling me that!?"

Naruto elbowed the man in the gut. "And how many times do I have to tell _you_, if the shoe fits, then put it on!"

Jiraiya then noticed several very distinct differences about his pupil. The first was that he was wearing the robes of the Hyuga clan, more specifically the outfit worn by the main branch of the Hyuga clan. The second thing was that he was holding the hand of the Hyuga heiress herself. Last but not least, said heiress was standing very close to Naruto, almost in a protective nature.

Jiraiya, not reading the tension in the air, blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "Oi, gaki, are you two together or something?"

At this point everyone else was finally noticing what the Sannin had already noticed.

Sakura shrugged Kakashi's hand off. "Yeah, why are you wearing Hyuga robes, and why are you two holding hands? In fact, why are you even hanging out with Hinata? I'm surprised she hasn't fainted yet or stuttered some incomprehensible mumble that no one hears then pokes her fingers together."

Before Hinata could defend herself Naruto walked up and got in Sakura's face. "Look, insult me all you want. Call me a baka, call me a dobe, hell, even hit me, I don't give a fuck. But, don't you _ever_ insult my fiancé again. Do you understand me?"

Sakura could only nod before Naruto walked back over to Hinata and took her hand in his, walking away from the group.

When they were a fair distance away Hinata sighed and leaned her head on Naruto's shoulder. "Naru-koi, I told you that I can fight my own battles. If I don't start standing up for myself then I will always be that shy little girl everyone seems to forget."

Naruto just smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I dunno, I kinda like the sound of that. I would get to have that shy little girl all to myself."

Hinata giggled and stopped walking, making Naruto stop too. She put her hands on his cheeks and brought her lips to his while Naruto wrapped his arms around her small waist. Once again, their intimate moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind them. They broke apart to find Jiraiya standing them with a huge grin on his face.

"I hate to interrupt your very _important_ business, but I thought I should tell you that I am taking you with me on a little training trip while I go looking for someone. It shouldn't be too long, maybe a few weeks or so, but make sure you pack enough to last you."

Naruto looked at the girl in his arms, who looked a little heartbroken at hearing Naruto would be leaving, then back at his substitute sensei. "Sorry Jiraiya-sensei, but I'm not going anywhere without 'Nata. Either she goes with us or neither of us go."

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "So all it takes is you to get a girlfriend before you finally show me some respect huh? Now are you sure you won't reconsider? I can't guarantee her safety."

Naruto nodded. "Either both of us or nothing at all."

Jiraiya paused for a few more seconds before he sighed. "Alright, fine. Sheesh. You really have it bad for her don't you?"

Naruto looked down at the girl in his arms. He smiled and kissed her lightly. "You have no idea."

Jiraiya made a small gagging motion. "Alright, enough with the mushy crap. You have two hours to pack your things and meet my by the front gates. Everything's already cleared with the council and I just told your sensei, but it's up to you two to tell Hiashi. As a reward for actually being respectful I'll inform Kurenai that we will be taking her student with us. See you two soon."

Jiraiya disappeared in another swirl of leaves.

Hinata looked up at Naruto and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "That was very sweet of you Naru-koi.  
Now that I finally have you, I don't think I can stand being away from you for so long. Now let's go inform my father of our journey."

Naruto picked up that Hinata didn't say they were going to ask for his permission to leave, she is only going to tell him that they _are_ leaving, with or without his consent.

They walked hand in hand back to the compound, earning a few strange looks from the people they passed, and talked about what kinds of training they thought Jiraiya would be giving them. Naruto subtly warned Hinata of the perverts "research" and she assured him that she would keep him in line this time, or there would be Jukens to some very private areas.

They reached the compound shortly after and walked past the same guards as the day before. Once again they paled and stood at full attention when they walked by, causing Naruto to smirk. They strode down the halls till they got to the same ornate door of Hiashi's study, and after a single knock Hinata walked inside.

Hiashi looked up from his desk to find his eldest daughter walking in through the door with her _fiancé_ next to her. He shuddered as the words went through his mind, and he didn't believe he could ever come to accept the Uzumaki as a son in law. He had no problems accepting him as a shinobi, he proved he was a decent shinobi when he defeated Neji in the Chunin Exams, but he could never accept him as a Hyuga, especially a future clan leader!

"Hinata, I guess _congratulations_ are in order for your victory this morning. As promised, I am currently filling out the necessary forms to _reinstate_ you as heiress."

Hinata bowed shallowly. "Arigato Tou-san. The reason I am here is to inform you that Naruto and I will be traveling with Jiraiya of the Sannin for an extended period of time for individualized training. We leaving in ninety minutes and will be away for approximately three weeks."

Hiashi couldn't believe it. First, his daughter grew a backbone seemingly overnight and actually stood up to him, something he had been trying to get her to do for years. Then, she defeated, no, she _destroyed_ her sister in a spar, the sister that had beaten her in every single spar in the last four years. Now, she is telling him that she is going on a training trip, with a _Sannin_ for individual training. For the past day Hiashi had been trying to find the reason why everything about Hinata had suddenly changed for the better, and his gaze fell on the blonde boy next to her holding her hand.

'Perhaps there might just be a place for you in the Hyuga after all Uzumaki.'

Hiashi cleared his throat and nodded his head. "Very well. I will have several changes of clothes already in a scroll brought for you both and another scroll with emergency rations. I trust that you will use this very _rare_ opportunity to learn as much as you can from one of the most famous and skilled ninja this village has ever produced."

Naruto couldn't stifle the small snort that arose from his chest as Hiashi continued to lavish praise on his sensei.

Hiashi narrowed his gaze at the blonde. "Is there a problem Uzumaki?"

Naruto regained his composure and bowed. "No Hiashi-sama, I just find it humorous to put Ero-Sennin up on a pedestal like that."

The older Hyuga arched an eyebrow. "Ero-Sennin? If that is the way you refer to Jiraiya-dono then I take it that you know him on a more personal level."

The blonde nodded his head. "Yes, I have known Ero-Sennin for about a month now. He was the one who trained me when Kakashi tried to pawn me off on this guy named Ebisu. Jiraiya is like the perverted uncle I never had, and even though he's a little quirky, I can tell he cares about me a lot. So I meant no disrespect earlier, I just honestly found it funny."

Hiashi blinked. 'Now he tells me that he has a personal relationship with arguably one of the most powerful shinobi of our time? Perhaps there is indeed a place for you in our clan.'

"I see. Well, I will let you two prepare for your journey then."

Hinata and Naruto bowed and went to leave.

"And Hinata?"

The girl turned around to face her father once again.

"Stay safe."

The girl's mouth fell slightly open, and she could only nod slowly. "H… Hai… Tou-san."

They left the room and closed the door behind them and made their way back to Hinata's room. Hinata was still in a daze, she couldn't figure out if her father was trying to show concern and told her to watch out for herself, or if he was ridiculing her saying that she was weak and needed to be reminded to avoid danger. She had the sinking suspicion from his tone that it was the former of the two options.

"Oi, 'Nata, are you ok? You seem deep in thought about something.

Hinata opened the door to her room and walked over to her bed, sitting down and staring at the floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired is all."

Naruto walked over to her side and sat down next to her, pulling her into a hug giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "You're a terrible liar 'Nata."

She looked up saw him smiling down at her. "Sorry Naru-koi, just a lot on my mind."

Naruto chuckled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Don't worry, you don't have to tell me. Just know that I'm here if you need me. Now, I'm going to go take a shower, never know when we might get another…"

Hinata watched him walk into the bathroom, and when the door closed she fell back on her bed, sighing happily and thanking whomever was watching over her for bringing about these new and fantastic changes.

**_An Hour Later_**

Naruto and Hinata were standing by the gates talking happily about their different memories of the academy. Naruto was surprised to find out that Hinata knew about most of his stories, mostly because she saw most of them unfold as she watched from the shadows. They stopped talking when they heard a person beside them clear his throat.

"You gakis ready? This is your last chance to back out. This isn't just some vacation; I'll be training the two of you into the ground whenever we aren't looking for our target or resting. So, I'll ask again, you two ready?"

Naruto looked at Hinata, and she took his hand in hers. "You bet."

**END**

**AN: Well, i think this chapter answered several questions people asked, and if you have any concerns please review/pm and let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Im back guys! School is getting pretty hectic and im spending more and more of my time reading about engineering stuff and math... Anyway, before the new chapter i have a few things to say.**

**Rant Warning:**

**Ive had several people raise concerns about the age Naruto and Hinata are, and how some things are inappropriate. While i agree and dont want 13 year olds running around and sleeping with other people, you have to remember the era this takes place, or at least the era Kishi wants us to think they are in. Although the story itself takes place in relative modern times, you have to remember that ninjas existed in the Sengoku (Warring States) period back in the 15th century. At that time, most people didnt live into their 30s and so had children as soon as biologically possible, meaning whenever they hit puberty, which is as early as 11 or 12. There are records of people in Egypt have children before they were 10... Anyway, i just want everyone to remember that it was a different culture, different time period, and different part of the world entirely. Many things that are normal for Japanese culture are not normal elsewhere in the world, so early teenagers being intimate isnt so far fetched, and what is "appropriate" changes from person to person. Dont get me wrong, i DO NOT condone people being intimate at that age, especially since most people arent fully mature and can have fatal consequences. But try to keep an open mind, plus its a fanfic... about fantasy, so if you dont like then dont read, its that simple.**

**Also there seems to be confusion about people making love and people just satiating their primal urges. There is a clear difference between two people showing the depths of their emotion to their soul mate and two people just hooking up and screwing like rabbits. That isn't what their relationship is about. Sure they both feel an attraction to the other, but that is natural. Can anyone here say that they arent attracted to your significant other? Of course not, in fact it would be very hard to maintain that relationship if you werent. But that doesnt mean your relationship is strictly platonic. There is a large amount of romance and love in a healthy relationship, and this fictional one i write about in this story is no different.**

**Plus, by this point, they both have been part of a war and have, most likely off screen, killed people to protect their home. So their emotional age is much higher than their actual age. Throughout history humans have had the amazing ability to adapt to all kinds of social stigma, and it has only been recently that being intimate at a young age has been frowned upon.**

***Phew* Ok, rant over. I apologize for that, and i know a fair amount of you guys wont read it and i will still get several people saying that they shouldnt be doing immoral acts at such a young age, but im just going to live with that and respect your opinion.**

**So with that done please read the chapter and tell me what you think.**

**BEWARE: LEMON AT END OF CHAPTER! Dont read if you arent comfortable with it.**

**Shout out to Leonas for the help with this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto**

**_Chapter 3_**

It was a gorgeous day; the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and one Hinata Hyuga had never been more pissed off in her life. From the time they had left Konoha till now, a total of three hours, they had been going over everything they had ever learned as a shinobi.

Jiraiya had them recount their battles, their skills, their jutsu repertoire, even their knowledge of current events and shinobi history. After he had a firm grasp on their respective abilities combat wise, he began drilling them on certain scenarios and gauging their strategical knowledge based on their responses. All in all, it had been a very productive couple of hours, and they all learned a lot about themselves, but therein was the problem. Aside from the month Jiraiya had trained Naruto, he hadn't learned a thing from his old sensei in the half year Naruto had been "trained".

This was the reason for the current mood of Hinata. "Naruto. Let me get this straight. The _only_ thing your sensei personally taught you relating to fighting had been _tree walking_?"

Naruto sheepishly nodded his head, he had never seen Hinata so upset, and in fact until only recently he thought she was physically incapable of getting angry. So imagine his surprise when she let out a curse that was _extremely_ un-Hyuga-like. Jiraiya just watched the two with the world's largest grin on his face, and he found himself quickly warming up to the idea of bringing the girl along.

"N… 'Nata?"

She took several calming breaths and forced a smile. "Gomen Naru-koi, I'm not mad at you. I'm just very upset with the… _carelessness_ of your other sensei."

Naruto let out a mental sigh of relief, quickly learning that Hinata adding that little suffix to his name meant that she was calm enough to reason with. He couldn't help but draw similarities between the way Hinata was acting and the way he father acted, but luckily he had enough common sense to not voice said similarities. Naruto walked over to his fuming fiancé and hugged her.

"'Nata, don't be upset. It really isn't worth it. Here and now we have each other and Ero-Sennin, so it's really not worth spending the time to be upset."

Somewhere ahead of them there was a grumble about 'damn gaki'.

Hinata sighed and hugged the blonde back. "Naruto, I know what you mean, but you have to understand just how serious this is. We're _shinobi_, trained killers, _trained_ killers, so if you aren't trained, then someone else will be able to _kill_ you. Kakashi wasn't just playing favorites Naruto, he was sentencing you to _death_. It might not have been his intention, but you could have been killed while on one of your missions because you weren't taught how to properly defend yourself." As Hinata was speaking a tear fell down her face. "I can't stand to lose you, not now, not when I am finally able to tell you how much I love you."

Naruto pulled back slightly and smiled at her, kissing her to solidify the point he was going to make. "'Nata, I swear to you here and now, that no one, not even the Shinigami himself, will take me from you."

Hinata closed her eyes half way with a joyful smile and threw her arms around the blonde's neck, kissing him for all he was worth, which apparently was quite a bit. They continued for about thirty seconds before they finally broke apart, foreheads touching and staring into each other's eyes while they caught their breath. Unfortunately, their touching moment was broken apart by the third member of their party.

"Holy shit… You guys are goldmines!"

Naruto turned to look at his sensei who was wearing a pair of reading glasses and scribbling on a notepad furiously.

"Hey, gaki, what was the last part of your final statement? I didn't quite catch that whole bit about the Shinigami."

Naruto glared at the Sannin. "Shove it Ero-Sennin. Don't you use us as your material for your disgusting books!"

Naruto felt the girl in his arms stiffen slightly, and she spoke in a very quiet voice. "You… You wouldn't be _that_ Jiraiya… The one responsible for those books called Icha Icha?"

Jiraiya puffed out his chest. "Why, yes I would little lady! Are you a fan? I don't usually do autographs, but I guess I can make an exception since you two are helping me- OUPFH!"

Whatever he was about to say was caught in his throat, and his hands flew down to cradle his recently kicked privates. He slumped to his knees and managed to look up into the glaring eyes of Hinata, who took his hair in her hand and pulled his eyes up so they were level with hers.

"Listen hear you old pervert. I don't care how powerful you are, or if you are one of the Sannin, but if you _ever_ use us for that piggish filth you call a book, I'll make sure that one of these days you'll wake up and find that you have more in common with women that you ever thought you would. Do I make myself clear?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened and he gripped his privates even harder; to make sure they were still there. "Yes ma'am."

Hinata released her grip and let him drop to the ground. She dusted off her hands and turned to Naruto with a sweet smile.

"Well, we should get going Naru-koi."

Naruto gulped and nodded. "H-Hai!"

**_At the Hyuga Compound_**

Hiashi was sitting in his study, sipping a cup of his favorite jasmine tea. He had just put the finishing touches on the last document that would finally solidify Hinata's position as heiress, again. He was pleased with his eldest daughter's changes, and has even started coming to terms with her… _fiancé._

It was still troubling to believe that Hinata had chosen _that_ particular shinobi as her future husband, to love and serve her as she continued the legacy of the Hyuga, but at least she had chosen out of love. He had heard one to many stories of suicide within the clan when someone was forced to marry against their will.

'I thank Kami that he is at least a powerful shinobi. His performances in the Chunin exams were stellar, and to top it off he fought the Suna Jinchuriki later that day, and defeated him!'

His musings were cut short with a quick knock on his door. Hiashi knew that he was only ever interrupted in his study when the council chose to convene, and thus his presence was required.

"Enter!"

The door slowly slid open and a young girl with a piece of cloth wrapped around her forehead entered and bowed.

"Lord Hiashi, the elder council has requested their presence at your earliest convenience."

Hiashi sighed, he had a feeling this would happen sooner or later. "I see. Did they inform you of the nature of this meeting?"

The woman shook her head. "Gomen Hiashi-sama, but they did not."

The older Hyuga mentally swore. 'Of course not. This has to be about Hinata.'

"Inform the council I will be there momentarily"

The woman bowed as she backed out of the room. "Hai, Hiashi-sama"

Hiashi stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of his robe. His eyes fell on a family portrait of directly after Hanabi was born, when his wife was still alive. He picked up the picture and gently stroked the figure of his late wife.

"Hitomi, if only you were here none of this would be happening… You always had a knack for bringing out the best in people, and not a day goes by where I don't miss you."

He set the picture back down on his desk with a sigh, reigning in his emotions and putting them back behind his Hyuga mask. He made his way to the council chambers without running into another soul, quite a rare coincidence in a place that houses several complete families. He walked up to his destination and slid open the door, to be met with an amusing sight.

Every member of the council was there, arguing over why _their_ son should be paired with the new heiress. None of them were paying enough attention to realize the clan head had entered the room, and was growing progressively angrier with each passing second.

Finally Hiashi had enough. "Quiet you fools!"

Finally everyone noticed his presence and quickly quieted.

"Now, would someone like to tell me why I have been summoned like some lapdog? The reason had better be important, or there _will_ be consequences."

The elder from the other day who refereed the spar, Gōman, stood up. "This is an important reason indeed Hiashi-dono. It involves the very future of the Hyuga, and whether or not we are on a path to ruin."

An older woman by the name of Jiman stood up. "Yes, this is to determine how to counteract the results of earlier today."

Hiashi sighed. "I wasn't aware that yesterday's results needed to be countered. The results of the spar from today were quite clear, and as Hyuga we are honor bound to honor those consequences. Hinata was victorious, and as such she has been made heiress once again. I have already completed the steps necessary to make this official, so there is nothing more to discuss."

Gōman scoffed. "How is it that for the past five years your eldest has lost every single spar against Hanabi, and yet she is so easily able to bat her aside like dealing with a child?"

Hiashi narrowed his eyes at the man. "What is it you are trying to say, _elder_?"

The old man flinched slightly, but held his ground. "Everyone here is thinking it, and I am merely voicing those thoughts, the demon has corrupted your eldest, somehow giving her some new demonic strength which she used to win her duel!"

Hiashi stole glances around the room, and found nearly all the elders were nodding their heads in agreement, even his own mother.

"Even you have fallen to their propaganda Kaa-san?"

An older woman with a tired looking face and long white hair named Dentō looked down in shame. "I'm sorry Hiashi, but the facts are irrefutable, there is no other explanation other than what has been stated. I love Hinata very much, but I can't let her steer the Hyuga towards a path of ruin."

Hiashi shook his head in disgust. "Well, I for one will, and that is all that matters."

The woman from earlier Jiman snorted. "What has brought about this new found change in you Hiashi-dono? Not a week ago you were supporting our every action in making Hanabi heiress, yet here you are placing yourself vehemently against us. Why?"

The clan head sighed. "My eyes have been opened to what I have been blind too for these many years. Hinata is strong, she proved that yesterday when she obliterated Hanabi. We all know that was her own power, and no one else's. Do you really think Naruto would have been able to supply her with strength in the middle of a spar? We all had our Byakugans active, and I know there wasn't a drop of the Kyubi's power used in that fight, unless you all forgot what his power looked like from thirteen years ago."

Gōman stood up in rage. "You dare to challenge our memory!? We all lost family to that beast, and no one will ever forget the feeling of pure evil it radiated!"

Hiashi smiled. "Good, then you all know that it wasn't used at all today. The fact of the matter is, Hinata created her own style of Juken that allowed her to _toy_ with Hanabi like a cat would with a mouse. Hinata has been holding herself back for years, and now no one, not even me, know her true capabilities. She might be able to go toe to toe with any one of us, and with her new style, might be able to even emerge victorious!"

There were several murmurs around the room, but Hiashi wasn't finished.

"I'll admit, I wasn't ready to welcome the Uzumaki into our home either, but you must approach this from an open point of view. We have a rare opportunity, one that hasn't happened to any other clan in Konoha's history. We have a change to incorporate the Uzumaki into our clan!"

Gōman stomped his foot in rage. "You would defile our blood with that-"

Dentō cut him off. "Silence Gōman, let my son explain his reasoning."

Hiashi smirked. "We have all heard the stories of the Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure. In the last war they fought against the combined might of Kumo, Iwa, and several lesser nations and they almost emerged victorious! Their sacrifice allowed us to mobilize our forces and win the war, but there were few Uzumaki survivors. Their name alone holds weight all across the elemental nations, and I'm sure there is some sort of heritage for Naruto to claim, since he is the heir to both Uzushiogakure and the nation of Uzu itself! So tell me, if you oppose the heir to a nation and a village as a husband to my daughter, who else would you have stand by my daughter's side as she leads our clan?"

There were even more nods all around the room. Hiashi knew he had them almost cornered, it was time to put the final nail on the coffin. It was time to play with their pride.

"And now they are both under the tutelage of one of the most powerful ninja our village has ever produced, Jiraiya the Gama Sennin, one of the legendary Sannin! When she returns she will be far stronger than previously, and now she has the backing of one of the more influential members of this village. From what I see, there is no one better to lead our clan to new levels of power and prestige than Hinata, and every single one of these changes were brought about by the young Uzumaki."

Gōman looked around the room. He knew there was no way he would be able to convince the council to brand Hinata now, but he still had one more card to play.

"You say Hinata hasn't been corrupted by the demon yet, but who is to say it won't happen in the future? What of their children? I can't seem to think that the power of the Kyubi wont _infect_ any future heirs!"

Hiashi chuckled. "Well, if it does then we will see what happens when the power of the mightiest beast in history is mixed with the power of the mightiest Dojutsu. I don't envy the position of any enemy my grandchildren might have, because I for one don't want to be on the receiving end of that combination of raw power."

Gōman sat back down, defeated. He may have been power hungry, but he wasn't stupid. He knew all too well that the prospect of increasing the power of the Byakugan was the one thing the elders would sacrifice anything to achieve, even the position of the next clan head.

There were several more minutes of hushed whispers among the elders, but finally Dentō stood back up. "I think I speak for the majority here that the points my son has brought before the council are more than adequate to recognize Hinata as heiress and Naruto as her fiancé."

Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. "I'm glad the council has seen reason. Now, I must get back to making the final preparations for the marriage between Uzumaki Naruto and my daughter."

He left the room and the elders filed out one by one, leaving only a handful left.

Gōman looked to his fellow elders. "We… We can't let this happen! It'll… It'll destroy us all."

Jiman shook her head. "As much as I want to agree with you, I just can't refute what Hiashi said. We can't do anything anymore, so we might as well make the most of what we can and pray Hinata wont destroy the old traditions."

An ancient looking man by the name of Egoizumu stood up. "I agree with Jiman. We have lost the backing of the council and now the only option left to us is work _with_ Hinata and attempt to decrease the number of changes she will make. Now, I believe we should all get some rest, it's been a very tiring day."

Eventually only Gōman was left. "No. I won't go down easily. Not now, not when I'm so close."

He left the council chambers to figure out how he could salvage this hopeless situation.

**_In the Town of Fujisato_**

The trio had been traveling for about six hours, finally reaching their first destination, the small town of Fujisato, famous for its hot springs, its festivals, and its underground casinos. Jiraiya narrowed his search for his missing teammate to a number of towns and locations where she had been spotted, but it was going to definitely going to take time to find her.

They walked through the front gate and walked straight to the nearest hotel. Jiraiya stopped and handed Hinata a small wad of bills.

"Go ahead and get us a room while I start asking around for Tsunade. I don't have enough money for two rooms so it looks like you two are sharing a bed, but I don't think you two mind do you?"

Naruto blushed and took Hinata's hand, leading her into the hotel. "Damn pervert…"

Hinata just smiled, sure she was a little embarrassed, but she wouldn't lie, she _didn't _mind sharing a bed with the blonde. Jiraiya just laughed and proceeded to walk away to begin asking questions around town.

"Let's go 'Nata, you don't want to know where he's going… dirty old man…"

Hinata giggled. "Well, since he's gone, why don't we shower and have a night out?"

Naruto paused and looked back at her. "You mean like a date?"

Hinata just laughed. "Well, I think we kinda skipped the dating phase so this can just be a night we get to enjoy ourselves."

Naruto felt a stab of guilt, reminded that he had taken away what most girls dreamed of, that night that girls remember for the rest of their lives, that night that they promise themselves to one person for the rest of their lives. Even though he knew it wasn't true, he felt that she held some resentment because he had robbed her of that precious moment. He knew that this was ridiculous, but the mind tends to wander and can reach some very ridiculous conclusions when it does so. He knew that he would fix this, if not tonight then sometime soon.

Naruto put on a smile. "Alright, sounds like fun. Let's go get ready!"

Not twenty minutes later and Naruto and Hinata were walking out of the hotel again, washed and refreshed. Walking hand in hand they explored around the town looking for something to eat since they had arrived before their usual lunch.

Just as they were walking down the street Hinata ground to a halt. "Wait, there's a nice looking sushi restaurant. How does that sound Naru-koi?"

Naruto shrugged and looked down at the ground. "That doesn't sound _too_ bad… But I was kinda hoping for ramen or something…"

Hinata sighed. "I'm sorry Naruto, but you need to diversify your diet. Ramen is ok every now and then, but you can't live solely on that. How about this, we have this for lunch and then we can find somewhere that has Ramen for dinner. Ok?"

Naruto pulled in Hinata for a tight hug, squeezing the life out of her. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're going to be the best wife ever 'Nata!"

Hinata just blushed, and ignored the bone shattering hug. This was the first time Naruto said he was actively looking forward to their marriage, and up until now she still had lingering doubts that she had forced him into something he didn't really want.

The lunch itself was simple, but it was filling and tasty, something the two of them were looking for after two solid days of eating plain rice and beans out on the road.

After that they spent the night just enjoying each other's company, visiting stores and doing a bit of window shopping. Hinata was saddened that she didn't pack enough money to actually buy any of the items that caught her eye, few as they were, and though she could charge them to the Hyuga clan, she didn't want to do anything to aggravate an already precarious position… yet.

Unknown to her, Naruto had basically his entire life savings on his person. One of the many things Hiruzen had taught Naruto in his lifetime was the extreme value of money, and taught Naruto how to use a seal on his arm to store all his earnings from his missions. That sum had become pretty hefty since the wave mission became an A ranked mission, in addition to the multitude of D ranks team 7 performed in the several month break before the start of the Chunin exams. To Hiruzen's surprise he discovered Naruto was _very_ conservative when it came to spending, and he could be very stingy when he wanted to be. Hiruzen was happy his teachings were taken to heart by his adoptive grandson, and he could only image the look on Naruto's face when he became Chunin and discovered he had enough wealth left my his parents to buy basically half of Hi no Kuni.

The afternoon together was magical, and once the sun went down they were pleasantly surprised to find that the town also was hosting a fireworks display that night. It was apparently some festival to honor the god of harvest, a very important time for the town especially with the wheat harvest approaching in a few weeks in mid-August. As per her promise, they were able to find a small stand that sold ramen to satisfy the blonde's endless cravings. Eventually Naruto and Hinata found themselves in the town square, where there was light music and a dancing floor made of bamboo where several couples were already swaying to the music.

Hinata was excited at the chance to dance with Naruto, and pulled him over towards the dance floor, but he was hesitant. "Wait 'Nata…"

She paused and looked at him with an impatient smile. "What is it?"

He blushed and shuffled his feet. "I… I don't know how to dance…"

Hinata closed her eyes and mentally slapped herself. Once again she had taken something for granted and assumed Naruto had a similar upbringing as herself. She kept forgetting that he never _had_ someone to teach him these things.

Hinata gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's ok Naru-koi, just follow my lead and do as I do. I'll teach you."

She settled for swaying with him to the beat instead of actual dancing, but the way they were together just felt more… right. She rested her head on his shoulder with her arms wrapped around his neck while he rested his head on hers and hand his hands clasped over her waist.

Around and around they twirled in an endless circle, content to get lost in the slow rhythms and simply enjoy being with one another. They both knew these peaceful moments were rare in the life of a ninja, but that made those times all the more special.

They had been dancing so long, that Hinata eventually was beginning to fall asleep, and her quiet yawns were all the indication Naruto needed to scoop her up in his arms and carry her back to the hotel. It was a short walk, one that Naruto wished would have lasted longer, and the two earned many looks of endearment as people watched two young teens in love.

Naruto eventually reached the hotel and made his way to their room, where he set Hinata on the bed and tucked her in. He watched her sleeping form, and heard her mumble his name in her sleep, something that brought a smile to his face. There was one thing though that was tearing him up. It was something that he still hadn't told her even though she had almost given herself to him, and it was the main reason why he pushed her away and asked her to wait. He still had to tell her about the Kyubi.

He knew that if he didn't do it now, then it would only mean more lies and trouble down the road, and he figured that it was best to tell her away from Konoha. Out here she would actually have time to think about what he had to tell her, and maybe even come to a decision about their relationship, if it survived.

Very gently he placed a hand on her shoulder and brought her out of her slumber. "'Nata… 'Naaaaaaaata. Wake up sleepy."

Her eyes fluttered open revealing eyes that had captured Naruto's heart and made his breath catch in his throat. "Naru-koi? Where are we?"

He smiled and brushed a bang out of her face. "You started to fall asleep so I brought you back. There… there's something I need to tell you though…"

Hinata forced herself awake when she heard the uncertainty and trepidation in his voice. "Naruto? What's wrong?"

He looked at the ground. "Do you remember what you promised me? The promise that you would never leave me, that you would always love me? No matter what?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes… Yes I remember… Naruto, what is it? You're starting to scare me."

A tear fell from his eye. "Do you… Do you remember what they taught us about the Kyubi… About the Yondaime's sacrifice thirteen years ago?"

Hinata mentally sighed. "Yes I remember… But… Naruto… I-"

He put a hand to her mouth. "Just… Just hold on a second 'Nata… I need to finish… I need to tell you that it was all-"

She removed his hand. "Naruto, its ok. I already-"

Naruto started to get frustrated. "Just hold on a second! This is really hard for me… I'm trying to say-"

This time Hinata put a hand over _his _mouth. "Naruto. I already know. I've already known for a while."

Naruto just stared at her, and eventually she removed her hand to let him speak. "You… You already know? But… How?"

She sighed and began explaining how she made the connection way back in the academy about how Naruto's birthday and the Kyubi festival coincided. She also did some research on the myths of the Biju, and about how they would never really 'die' just fade away until they reappeared several years later. There were some questions that coincidence raised though, since the Kyubi hadn't been sighted for nearly a hundred and fifty years. Then she discovered the word that would change her view on her blonde crush forever, Jinchuriki, the power of human sacrifice. With all the remarks made towards Naruto from the villagers and the way he was treated, she was easily able to put the pieces together and figure out the truth about what happened all those years ago.

For a long time there was silence as Naruto just stared at the floor. "So… What do you think?"

Hinata lifted her head to look at the blonde. "What do you mean?"

Naruto looked at her with tears running down his face. "I'm sure many Hyuga's died when the Kyubi attacked… So do you hate me? Do you blame me for their deaths? I wouldn't blame you if you did… I mean, I basically _am_ the Kyubi so I could understand if-"

Hinata grabbed the hem of his robes and pulled him into her lips. She forced his mouth open with her tongue and kissed him passionately to drive whatever he was about to say out of his mind forever. She held him for as long as she could, eventually breaking for air.

They were both panting with their foreheads resting against each other, and Hinata smiled and gave him another quick kiss. "Naru-koi, we both know you aren't the Kyubi. And even if you _were_, I still wouldn't care. I fell in love with that little blonde boy who saved me from those bullies when I was a little girl. The same boy that shared with me his nindo, who showed me that no matter what, hard work and determination will always triumph over natural talent. I fell in love with that boy, and whether you call yourself Kyubi or Naruto I couldn't care less, I just want to be with _you_."

Naruto let tears of happiness fall from his face while he crawled over to her side in bed and held her close to him. He fell asleep holding the only person left in the world who would show him love, the only person who he would ever give his heart to, and there wasn't anywhere he would rather be.

And that is where they slept, in the arms of their other half after an evening that only served to bring them closer together. There was only one black spot on the entire evening, and that was when they had accidentally run into a slightly drunk Jiraiya entering what appeared to be a brothel. The Sannin, in his slightly drunken haze, had caught sight of Naruto and had offered to get someone to "train" Naruto before his wedding night with Hinata. Of course, she made it clear that _no one_ was going to touch Naruto besides her, and Jiraiya's privates received that message loud and clear when they met her foot in a vertical handshake.

The next morning they all awoke early, against Jiraiya's wishes, and proceeded to head out of the town. Whatever Jiraiya had done the night before had led him to discover that Tsunade was actually _not_ in that town, and so they hit the road to find her. They stopped at a clearing around mid-morning for training promised by Jiraiya.

"Alright you two, at the rate we're going it's a two day walk to our next location. We are going to walk from sunrise till noon, and then stop for training."

He dropped his bag to the ground and walked over to a tree, plucking several leaves off the tree branches. He approached Hinata and handed her the leaves.

"Alright, now I want you to do a chakra training exercise since you've already mastered tree climbing and water walking. You take a leaf and use your chakra to keep it stuck to your forehead." He demonstrated and stuck a leaf to his head between his eyes. "Now, to make this a little more difficult, every time you manage to get a leaf to stick, I want you to place another leaf above one of your tenketsu."

Hinata took the handful of leaves and arched an eyebrow. "Why above a tenketsu? Why not just put more on my head?"

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't want to directly say it, but I've had a theory about blocking the famous Juken of the Hyuga, and you are the perfect person to test this theory. Now, what is Juken in essence besides a taijutsu form?"

Naruto walked over to the pile of leaves and took one, placing it on his forehead to try the exercise. When he focused chakra at the point and let go the leaf blew off at an incredible speed, causing him to pout and Hinata to giggle. "Well, I guess its forcing chakra into an opponent's tenketsu, shutting them down temporarily and blocking the flow of chakra through that tenketsu."

Jiraiya nodded. "Precisely, now what would happen if someone was able to completely control every one of their tenketsu? What would that mean to those who use Juken?"

Hinata gasped. "The entire fighting style would be rendered useless since the opponent could push chakra out of that tenketsu point and block the opponent's chakra!"

The old Sannin smiled. "Correct, but you're still thinking too small. If someone _was_ to master control of their tenketsu, and had a large enough chakra capacity, then they would be able to continuously push a steady stream of chakra out of their tenketsu during a fight, making them invulnerable to virtually all attacks!"

Hinata smiled, if she was able to do what he was talking about she would be as strong as Tsunade, arguably one of the strongest Kunoichi in the world! "And you think I can do this?"

Jiraiya's smile disappeared. "I can't say. I'm not sure if you would have the chakra capacity to fully utilize this technique like Naruto could, but he just doesn't have the control necessary, unlike you. If you two would just merge then you would make the ultimate ninja, but I guess there is a way you two can _merge…_"

Naruto ignored the perverted statement and took Hinata's hand in his. "I don't care what anyone says 'Nata, I have no doubt in my mind that you'll be able to do this. You just have to try!"

Hinata smiled and picked up a leaf, putting it on her forehead. "Thank you Naru-koi, I'll get this technique down or ill die trying!"

The blonde laughed nervously. "Well… I mean… try and all, but don't kill yourself… please…"

Hinata smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Naruto gave her hand a squeeze, and leaned in for a kiss, closing his eyes slightly. He saw Hinata do the same, and it was clear she wanted to feel his lips on her own just as much as he did, but before they could do so someone cleared their throat behind them, causing them to flinch back.

"As touching as this is, you both have training to do. This isn't a vacation or a honeymoon, this is a mission."

Naruto and Hinata blushed, but knew that he was right, there would be time to be together later.

Naruto walked over to Jiraiya and bowed slightly. "Sorry, I got carried away, and I distracted Hinata. I promise it won't happen again when we're training."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Cut the formal crap, just pay more attention ok?" Naruto nodded. "Ok, now make about, oh… well, as many clones as you can."

Naruto nodded and took a few seconds to gather chakra and put his fingers in a cross shaped seal. "_Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)!_"

There was a puff of smoke, and then the training ground was instantly filled with Naruto's, as far as the eye could see. Hinata's jaw dropped and Jiraiya looked pleased, and he tried for a few seconds to count them, but quickly tired and gave up.

"Oi gaki, about how many clones do you think there are?"

Naruto thought for a few seconds and shrugged. "I dunno, maybe two hundred, around that."

Jiraiya nodded. "Ok, now Naruto, do you know _why_ this is a forbidden technique?"

Naruto shook his head so Jiraiya continued.

"Well, the chakra toll this technique places on the body is very heavy, and most Jounin are only able to make maybe two or three before it starts to get dangerous. You are an exception due to your _situation_ and heritage as an Uzumaki, who were all gifted with abnormally high chakra reserves."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You know about my family!?"

Jiraiya mentally cursed himself for letting _that_ one slip out. "Yeah, I know a bit about them, and I'll tell you everything I know in due time, but for now focus on your training, ok?"

Naruto nodded excitedly.

"Ok, now the major benefit to this technique is obviously having solid copies of yourself with complete chakra networks, which means that they will be able to use every single jutsu you yourself know. The _other_ benefit is the reason I had you make so many clones."

Naruto tilted his head. "What other benefit?"

Jiraiya smiled and gestured to a clone to follow him. "Come with me, but the real Naruto stay there."

The clone looked at the real Naruto, and they both shrugged. Jiraiya and the clone walked several paces behind the real Naruto so there wasn't a way he could see the pair of them.

The clone however was quickly losing patience. "Oi, Ero-Sennin, what're we doing out her- Ompf!"

The clone was nailed in the gut with a strong punch from the Sannin, and immediately expelled itself. Naruto turned around and pointed an accusing finger at his sensei.

"Oi! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Jiraiya smirked. "What's wrong gaki?"

Naruto glared at him. "What do you mean what's wrong!? You nailed him in the gut!"

Jiraiya just continued smirking. "And how do you know that? You were turned completely the other way."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders while still glaring. "I don't know, I guess I got his memories or something like that. But it doesn't matter you- …Wait… I got his memories?"

The older Sannin clapped his hands. "It looks like you figured it out. When a Kage Bunshin expels itself, all its memories and experiences, everything it learned over the course of its lifetime is sent back to the original and incorporated into Naruto's own memories. So if you train with… let's say two hundred clones for about six hours, you would do the same amount of work as another person doing that same training for about fifty days straight."

Naruto's face erupted into a massive grin. "I… I can learn so much… I can literally learn everything in the Konoha library in a single day! This… This is incredible!"

Hinata finally decided to speak up after getting over her initial shock. "Naru-koi could fit entire years' worth of training into mere weeks!"

Jiraiya sent a glare over towards Hinata. "Oi! Did I tell you to stop?"

Hinata flinched and went back to placing leaves over her tenketsu. "No Jiraiya-sensei…"

Jiraiya watched her for a few more seconds before he turned his attention back to Naruto. "Ok, now that you know the benefits you can apply it to training. Just remember, this only works for things you can _learn_, meaning jutsu, strategy, chakra control exercises, you know, things you have to remember with your brain. It has no effect whatsoever on physical endurance or things of that sort, so you will still need to keep yourself on a harsh physical regimen, but for now I want you all to focus on water walking. Just focus chakra on the bottom of your foot like tree climbing. It'll be more difficult since the surface of the water will change, so you're going to have to fluctuate the amount of chakra on the bottom of your foot constantly. Now get to it! I want you to practice for about two hours then dispel your clones."

There was a chorus of 'Hai' that resounded throughout the training grounds while Jiraiya went to sit under the shade of a nearby tree and doze off for a nap.

Jiraiya was shaken awake by a very wet Naruto, who had the largest smile on his face.

"Ero-Sennin! I dispelled all the clones after two hours like you said and I got a huge headache, but then when I went to try the exercise again it was like I could do it all along! These Kage Bunshins are a sign from Kami that I'm going to be a great ninja!"

Jiraiya grumbled a bit and stuck a finger in his ear to clean out the wax. "Yeah yeah, sure gaki, sure."

He reached into his pocket and took out a small slip of paper, handing it to the blonde who tilted his head. "What's this?"

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'What's this?'?"

Naruto was about to speak when Hinata walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jiraiya-sensei, Naruto wasn't in class when we learned about chakra paper. Iruka-sensei was sick that day, so when the lesson started Mizuki-sensei sent Naruto out of the room while he taught it."

Jiraiya blinked. "Wait a second. You mean Naruto was purposely made to leave the room while one of the teachers had you all test your elemental affinities?"

Hinata nodded with a shamed look on her face. "Hai… No one said anything because we didn't want to get in trouble… I'm sorry Naruto…"

Naruto shrugged. "It's alright 'Nata, were fixing it now so it's ok, no harm down right?"

Jiraiya cursed under his breath, he was going to personally make sure things changed when Tsunade became the next Hokage. "Well gaki, this here is what is called chakra paper. It's made from trees that are fed on chakra in special nurseries and are used for the purpose of determining a person's elemental affinities. You have to channel chakra into the paper and the way it responds tells you your particular affinity. Now be clear, just because you don't have an affinity towards an element doesn't mean you can't learn it, it just means it'll be a whole lot harder and it'll need a lot more chakra. Now stand back so I can show you."

Jiraiya held the paper in the palm of his hand for a few seconds before half of it turned to dirt and started crumbling away while the other half ignited and burned off.

"See that? It means I have two elemental affinities, Fire (Hi) and Earth (Tsuchi) type chakra, meaning _Katon (Fire Release)_ and _Doton (Earth Release)_ are very easy for me. You already know what Fire and Earth looks like, so if you have wind the paper will split in two, lightning the paper will wrinkle, Water: the paper will become wet/damp."

Naruto nodded and took the piece of paper, channeling some chakra into it. Naruto jumped a bit when the paper was violently torn in two, and then proceeded to tear itself into oblivion.

The blonde looked at the pieces of paper in his hand, and then turned his gaze towards his stunned teacher. "Uh… Ero-Sennin? Was it supposed to do that?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "No Naruto, no it isn't. I guess maybe instead of having two affinities, your body just chose to superpowered one. What I just saw leads me to believe that you have one of the strongest, if not _the_ strongest, Wind (Kaze) chakra types I've ever heard of!"

Naruto just grinned and pumped his arm. "Did you hear that 'Nata!? I knew I was awesome!"

Hinata smiled and brought another leaf up and put it on her arm, bringing it up to a total of five leaves. She had made decent progress, but she was reaching the limits of her chakra capacity, and she would soon need to rest unless she wanted to risk chakra exhaustion.

Naruto was brought out of his cheers by an abrupt smack to the head, curtousy of Jiraiya. "Listen here gaki; don't let this get to your head! You still have a whole lot of work to do before you are anything more than a nuisance to most shinobi."

Naruto glared at the Sannin while rubbing the back of his head, but knew where his sensei was coming from. Pride could get you killed on the battlefield; he had seen this more than once having been on a team with one of the most prideful people in the world.

"Sorry Ero-Sennin, it's just I've been told for so long that I'm the 'dobe' or 'dead-last' that I got excited when I found out I was actually going to be good at something."

Jiraiya sighed. "Look kid, if it makes you feel better… I was the dead last of my class too."

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, and Hinata too was so surprised she let all the leaves fall. Unfortunately Jiraiya saw her lapse in concentration.

"Oi, gaki-ette, good job on keeping it up for so long, but now you have to drop down and give me one hundred push-ups, and then do two hundred squat jumps. Then repeat that, oh… five times."

Hinata's mouth fell open, and she sent a pleading look for help to Naruto, who nodded back. "Uh, Ero-Sennin, isn't that a little… harsh?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "It might be, but that is what my ex-team mate Tsunade made me do whenever we trained. She was a strength and stamina monster, and those two exercises were her bread and butter. Of course, she would eventually wear weights for added strength, but you get the picture. So hop to it!"

Naruto looked at Hinata who cast a defeated look at the ground. Naruto laughed at her distress as she did one push up after another, but his laughter stopped when he found Jiraiya smirking at him evilly.

"Who said she would be doing this alone?"

Naruto gulped and went over to take position next to his fiancé.

The next two days continued in the same manner, travelling in the morning while training in the afternoon, and needless to say both Naruto and Hinata were exhausted. Naruto had been able to completely master all forms of chakra control with the use of his clones, and were now using them to cut through leaves on his first steps towards wind nature manipulation training. Jiraiya said he wanted him to be able to know the ins and outs of wind chakra before he taught him any new jutsu, and despite Naruto's many protests he kept true to his words. It was very slow progress, even with the clones, and Jiraiya assured Naruto that it took Sarutobi Asuma, one of the more accomplished _Futon (Wind Release)_ users in Konoha, at least three months to complete this stage. The only thing Jiraiya had taught Naruto jutsu wise was the _Shunshin (Body Flicker Technique)_, and that was only to shut him up on the second evening. Of course, this training was also joined by the physical training that Jiraiya put him through, and coupled with the mental fatigue of two hundred clones and thousands of hours of training, it all equaled one tired Genin, even with the Kyubi's accelerated healing.

Hinata was in worse shape than him. She had maxed out on her leaf control exercise when she reached around 53 leaves, all placed over tenketsu and held there with chakra. Unfortunately, her reserves were too low to expel that much chakra all at once, but she was told by Jiraiya that her reserves would grow quickly as she continued her training, not to mention she still had quite a bit of growing to do before her chakra coils were fully developed. Her chakra control was increasing at an astronomical rate, and she was able to expel her chakra out of all the major tenketsu at any point in time, though she was still working on replicating that feat with the smaller tenketsu points. She was also going through that 'workout soreness' phase since she was still getting used to the physical aspect of training, but she was excited to see the results of all her training. Physically she was just as tired, especially since her team never really stressed the physical aspect of training.

Therefore the relief they felt when their next stop came into view was a most welcome sight for the two exhausted shinobi. The city of Biratori was quite an impressive sight, at least three times as large as the small town of Fujisato.

When they entered the city gates Jiraiya turned to his two students. "Alright you two, same drill. You guys go and get a hotel room for us while I look around for Tsunade."

He went to reach into his pocket for some money to give the two but was stopped when Naruto rushed towards him and grabbed his hand.

Naruto bent up to whisper in the Sannin's ear. "Ero-Sennin, I'm planning on taking Hinata out somewhere very nice tonight, and I want it to be really special, but that doesn't really work when you come in at three drunk, so here."

Naruto shoved a large wad of Ryo notes into the older man's hands. "Can you just stay somewhere else, you know, use the money to… _research_ and just give us a night alone? Please, just for tonight?"

Jiraiya smirked at his student's request. "Wow gaki, never took you for the perverted type, but with a wifey like her I guess I can understand."

Naruto blushed and stammered a response. "I-It isn't like that you perv! I just want this night to be special without your drunken ass there!"

Jiraiya chuckled and took the money from his student's hands. "Mmhmm, that's what they all say."

Still chuckling the older man walked into the city waving over his shoulder. "Don't get yourselves killed now!"

Hinata walked up to a grumbling Naruto. "Naru-koi, why did you give Jiraiya-sensei money?"

Naruto took her hand in his and began to walk into the city, heading for their finest hotel. "Well, I wanted some time where it's just the two of us without that perv. I wanted to have tonight just be us, without any distractions from him, where I get to treat you like a princess, like you should be."

Hinata smiled and hugged herself to Naruto's arm while resting her head on his shoulder. Naruto turned and kissed the top of her head before resting his own on hers. To anyone passing by, they would have seen two teens walking down the road, looking very much in love, and they would be spot on.

Hinata watched as they walked past all of the lower quality hotels, places where they would normally stay.

"Naru-koi? Where are we going?"

Naruto chuckled, pulling his arm out of her grasp and wrapping it around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "I told you, tonight is going to be special, and I can't really do that it a crappy little hotel like that now can I?"

Hinata smiled, liking the more romantic side of her fiancé. "But, anywhere with you is special. It doesn't have to be somewhere fancy and expensive."

Naruto grinned and tightened his grasp. "No, I guess it doesn't, does it? But it definitely doesn't hurt either."

They then walked into a very high class looking hotel with a large lobby. The floor was made completely of marble with large decorative pillars lining the pathways. The room opened up to a vaulted ceiling with a massive chandelier, and on the ceiling was a painted mosaic of the Shodaime Hokage's fight with Uchiha Madara. Naruto and Hinata were in awe at the pure grandeur displayed in the hotel, and they two were getting looks by both the staff and the other guests since they were both in their training gear.

Naruto ignored them and walked up to the front desk with his head held high where he was greeted by a small man in a suit. "Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto and this is my fiancé Hyuga Hinata. I request a room for us to stay in for the night."

The man was smirking at the couple up until he heard Hinata's name. "A-Are you _the_ Hyuga Hinata? Heiress of the Hyuga clan?"

Hinata smiled and nodded. "Yes I am, now would you be so kind as to ready the Hyuga suite for my fiancé and I to spend the night in?"

The man bowed low while sending off several bellhops to do as requested. "O-Of Couse Hyuga-sama! Your room shall be ready momentarily!"

Naruto nodded and led Hinata away from the desk. When they were alone again he looked at Hinata with an arched eyebrow motioning towards the check in desk, but she just shrugged. "What? The Hyuga are famous in Hi no Kuni and Konoha, especially with the fall of the Uchiha. We are highly respected and have many connections all throughout the elemental nations."

Naruto nodded and smiled. "I guess you're right. I'm still getting used to the attention I guess."

Hinata smiled and wrapped her arms around his back, pulling him in for a quick kiss. "Well, you better get used to it mister, because you aren't going anywhere for a looooooong time. Understand me?"

Naruto chuckled and gave her another kiss. "Yes ma'am."

A teenage girl with long brown hair and deep sea foam eyes in a bellhop uniform approached the couple and bowed. "Your room has been readied for your use. All sheets and linens have been changed and the room was given a quick cleaning."

Naruto eyebrows rose. "What? Really? That sure was fast…"

The woman bowed again. "The Hyuga suit is always kept in good condition, but whenever its use is called for it is taken as top priority, especially when there are _guests _involved with the Hyuga visiting."

Hinata didn't like the way the girl was looking at her Naruto. 'Has she no shame? It is clear that we're together, hell, were wrapped around each other!'

Thankfully when she looked back at Naruto he was only looking at his fiancé, and they were led away to their room. They walked up to the elevator and when the doors opened Naruto pulled his hand out of Hinata's.

She turned to him. "What's wrong?"

He smiled and made a cross hand seal, creating a _Kage Bunshin_. The two Narutos looked at each other before nodding, and the clone ran off. Naruto then took Hinata's hand again and stepped into the elevator. "Don't worry 'Nata, he is just going to take care of something while we freshen up."

Hinata could tell that he was keeping something from her, but she knew he was only trying to make this night very memorable, so she just let it go and stepped into the elevator.

**_With Kage Bunshin_**

The Naruto Kage Bunshin quickly left the hotel and turned towards the upper class portion of the city. He was given a specific number of important tasks that were vital to the success of the night Naruto had planned. His first stop was stop was a restaurant, but not just any restaurant. He wanted it to be a place that showed culture and class while also having the mood and climate that would ooze romance.

He came to a stop outside a place called Enju, and the vibes coming out seemed to match exactly what he was looking for. He walked in through the door and up to the front counter where a small man in a very nice looking suit and tie stood.

"May I help you sir?"

Naruto nodded and straightened up as high as he could, putting on his best impression of a Hyuga. "Yes you may. I would like reservations for tonight at 6:00 PM sharp."

The man sighed. "I'm sorry sir, but we won't be able to process reservations only two hours ahead. It takes weeks just to get a table here. I apologize sir, but it just isn't possible."

Naruto swiped a seal on his arm that allowed him to use _real _money and took out an impressive stack of bills. "Make it possible. 6:00 PM sharp. Hyuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto."

The man's eyes widened when he recognized this name, because as soon as he heard Uzumaki he stiffened. The man looked at the bills and shook his head, confusing Naruto. "Right away sir. Your table shall be ready when you arrive."

Naruto thanked the man and left with a smile on his face. 'I think I can get used to this.'

**_Back at the Hotel_**

Naruto decided to be the first to take a shower so he would be surprised at Hinata's attire. Luckily her father had the foresight to have a formal set of robes for her and a suit for him packed in case such an occasion arose. Of course the hotel had whatever cosmetics Hinata or Naruto would need while they were there, and Naruto couldn't believe his luck in picking this particular hotel. Who knew the Hyuga kept a room here ready for the main family at any time? He sure didn't.

Currently he was waiting on a sofa in the family room of the suit while Hinata was using the master bathroom to prepare herself. Naruto silently hoped she was one of those girls that took an hour washing her hair so he had enough time to finish his preparations for the evening. Luckily his clone created another clone before dispelling, informing Naruto that dinner was taken care of.

"Only two more things to do, and if those go off right, then this will be the best night of her life… I hope."

Just then he heard the shower turn off, and he silently prayed for his clone to hurry up and finish.

**_With the Kage Bunshin_**

He was in a store, still in the expensive part of the city, one that he never thought he would ever step into. It wasn't because he didn't like what the store sold, he just thought that he would never need to be there, but fate has a funny way of changing things.

He had been looking for over half an hour, scrutinizing each and every one they had, and he was giving up hope. Just as he was about to go to another store he found it. It was perfect in every way, it symbolized everything he wanted it to, and he was confident that she would love it.

He looked up to one of the attendants who had been following him behind the counter the entire time. "I'll take this one. It's perfect."

The lady behind the counter laughed. "Are you sure little boy? It's very expensive, now where are your parents? Are they in this store?"

Naruto's smile dropped from his face. This wasn't the first time someone had taken him for a child, especially since he had yet to go through that male growth spurt, but he wasn't going to let this woman ruin his day. He pulled out his Hitai-ate and showed the woman.

"I am a shinobi of Konohagakure. I am no more a child than you are, and I demand respect."

The woman froze in fear and bowed several times. "Forgive me sir, I was out of place! I apologize for any insults I may have said, I wasn't aware!"

Naruto sighed, he didn't want people to be afraid of him, and he just wanted to be treated like everyone else. "It's ok, I know I'm short for my age… Now, may I please buy this one?"

The woman let out a sigh of relief. The stories of shinobi taking out their anger on civilians who insulted them are all too common, especially with the increase of missing nin lately.

"Of course sir, but are you sure? It's the most expensive one we have in the store?"

Naruto swiped the seal on his arm to bring out several stacks of Ryo notes. "I don't think that'll be a problem ma'am."

**_Back in the Hotel Room_**

Naruto's eyes were as wide as saucers and his heart was pounding in his chest as soon as Hinata stepped out of the shower. He would never believe just how lucky he was that the woman standing before him chose _him _out of all the people in the world.

Before him stood the pinnacle of human perfection. Hinata's hair was still in the shorter hairstyle, but to him, who usually liked longer hair, it was perfect that way. She wore little make up, mostly a slight foundation to give her cheeks a more rosy look. She was wearing a deep violet kimono that had small branches of flowers scattered throughout. The obi itself was of a lighter purple color that contrasted with the darker kimono but at the same time complimented the pale purple color of her eyes perfectly.

He finally swallowed the lump in his throat. "'Nata… You… You look beautiful!"

Hinata reverted back to her shy self momentarily and poked her fingers together several times. "Thank you Naru-koi, you look very handsome yourself."

Naruto smiled and extended his hand in invitation. "Well, we should get going 'Nata. I have the entire night planned for us, and I think you're going to love it."

Hinata accepted his hand and giggled. "Naruto, I would be happy if we just stayed in and had ramen. It's just being with you that makes it special."

Naruto feigned regret. "Really!? Crap! I already had all this stuff set up when we could have had ramen! Guess I should cancel it…"

Hinata started panicking slightly. "Wait! Wait! I was just joking! Please take me out!"

Naruto chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. "I know 'Nata. I might be a little behind in the emotional department, but even I can take a hint."

The Hyuga girl sighed relief. 'Oh thank Kami… I knew I shouldn't have mentioned Ramen… That stuff is like a drug for him.'

Naruto hooked her arm in his as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Well my hime, shall we start this wonderful night?"

She smiled and nodded on his shoulder. Naruto only chuckled as he walked out of the hotel room.

**_With the Kage Bunshin_**

"Alright, this is the last stop, then everything will be perfect."

He looked to the front counter and approached a small woman in an apron. "Hello young man, may I help you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, I'm planning a special night for the most important woman in the world, and I need something that tells her I love her and only her."

The woman made an 'Awww' sound and complimented him on his romantic feelings. "You know, not enough men have the guts to spend the time to properly romance a woman. Whoever this young lady is, she is very lucky to have found you."

Naruto blushed and smiled, mumbling something under his breath. "Well, actually it was the other way around…"

"So, is there something you can tell me about her"

Naruto thought for a second. "Well, her favorite color is purple."

The lady behind the counter thought for a second then grinned broadly. "I have just the thing! Stay right here."

She disappeared through a door behind the counter and came back several seconds later with a vase full of purple flowers.

"There are called lavenders. They represent love and fidelity, and personally I think these are the best flowers out there to show that. So many people use roses that it's almost become a cliché, and the lavender has been really downplayed the last few years, so I don't think she'll be expecting it!"

Naruto took the flower and smelled it. It smelled faintly like Hinata, and Naruto knew then that those were the flowers he had to get for her and use, no matter what.

He handed the vase back to her. "So are these the only lavenders you have or are there more?"

The woman laughed. "Oh dear no. This store actually has a nursery out back and lavenders are the main flower grown there. For some reason Kumo is having a massive building project using lavenders; something about preventing runoff while beautifying the mountains."

Naruto just smiled and swiped the seal again, pulling out several large stacks of bills. "Perfect. I'll take them all!"

**_With Naruto_**

He led Hinata through the streets, and they were getting looks from many people who were happy that such young love was in the air. When he finally came to a stop outside of Enju Hinata looked up.

"Enju… Where have I heard this name before… Is this _that _Enju!? The most lucrative restaurant in all of Hi no Kuni!?"

Naruto honestly didn't know that little tid bit of information. "I guess it is 'Nata, now let's go in. Its almost 6."

They walked inside and the man from earlier saw their approach and grabbed two menus and bowed before them. "Uzumaki-sama, Hyuga-sama. I'm honored you two are able to join us tonight. Please follow me and I'll show you to your table."

The man politely motioned for the two to follow him and led them towards the back of the restaurant. The atmosphere was even better than Naruto had hoped for; the lights were dimmed yet gave enough light to easily see anyone around the table, there was a harp player towards the side of the restaurant that gave the perfect ambiance, and from judging the tables, Naruto was able to see that this was every bit as high class on the inside as it looked on the outside.

They were led through a door to a back room with a single table, where a man in a very expensive looking suit was waiting for them. Hinata shot a look towards Naruto who just shrugged. He didn't know what was going on either.

When they approached the other man he bowed. "Good evening Uzumaki-sama, Hyuga-sama. My name is Kōkana Enju, the owner of this humble establishment, and I will be personally taking care of you two tonight."

Naruto nodded and tanked the man as he was pulling out Hinata's chair for her to sit down. Naruto then took his own seat while their water glasses were filled.

"Enju-san? I have a question for you if you don't mind?"

The man looked up and bowed. "Of course Uzumaki-sama, ask anything."

Naruto now was very confused. He had never been treated like this before. "Why is everyone taking care of us so well? Not that I'm complaining of course! I'm just wondering why."

Kōkana looked perplexed, as if Naruto had asked if the sky was blue. "Uzumaki-sama, do you not know that your family was the one who gave me the money to build this restaurant?"

Both Hinata and Naruto were surprised this man knew of the Uzumakis; no one ever seemed to know anything about them. "You know about my family?"

The man smiled. "Of course I do Uzumaki-sama. I was in contact with your family for some time, and I am pleased to say that I consider myself one of their friends. I was told of a young Uzumaki with blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and I made a vow to always welcome him into my establishment as I have welcomed his family in the past."

Naruto fought back the urge to ask about his family. This night was about Hinata, and he would always have time in the next few days. "Thank you Enju-san for your kindness."

The man bowed again. "Of course. Now, what may I get you two to start off with? Your meals will of course be on the house."

This was the signal for Naruto's stomach to make a rumbling appearance, causing Hinata to giggle and Kōkana to chuckle.

**_With the Kage Bunshin_**

He was in the last spot he needed to be, finishing up everything, making sure it was perfect. Jumping back and standing on the hill overlooking his work he felt satisfied with how it turned out.

"She'll love it."

He created a few more clones. "Alright, one of you guys dispel to send back the memories. The rest of ya stay here and make sure no one messes this up. And make sure the rest of the guys stay _Henged_! This whole thing'll fall apart if even one of them jumps the gun."

They all 'Hai'ed as the clone jumped off to find the original, leaving a dozen clones to decide amongst themselves who was going to dispel. They all circled up and began looking between at the other clones, tension building. Their hands began inching towards their kunai pouches, and they started to slip into their taijutsu stances. Finally, at the apex of the tension, they all shouted at the same time.

"JAN-KEN-KO!"

They all threw out their hands, revealing that they all threw out paper. They all sweat dropped and one of the clones sighed.

"Maybe doing a janken (rock-paper-scissors) competition with clones of the same person wasn't a good idea?"

**_With Naruto and Hinata_**

The happy couple were sharing a desert of Wasanbon (multicolored sugar candies) and were chatting happily chatting away. The night had so far gone off without a hitch, and it was even better for Naruto since he got to meet someone who personally knew his family, and he had already been invited back to discuss what the man knew.

As they were finishing Kōkana came back to the table. "I hope that you two found your dinners to be enjoyable?"

Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm sorry Enju-san, but nothing will be able to beat 'Nata's cooking, but I will admit, it was very delicious."

Kōkana smirked. "Of course Uzumaki-sama, I understand completely. Is there anything else I can get for you two?"

Naruto looked at Hinata, to signal her that he was finished if she was. She smiled and shook her head.

"Thank you Enju-san, but I think we're finished. Now are you sure you won't let me at least compensate you in some way?"

Kōkana shook his head and bowed. "I wouldn't dream of it Uzumaki-sama. If I accepted your money I would shame your ancestors, and the guilt would eat me alive. This is the least I can do."

The blonde shrugged and thanked the man again, hopping out of his seat and extending his arm for Hinata to take. She took his invitation and walked arm in arm out of the restaurant. When they were out of sight she wrapped her arm around his back and pulled him into a fiery kiss. Naruto was surprised at first, but just went with the flow and began returning the gesture, enjoying the small moans and squeaks that came from the girl he was with.

After they broke apart panting Hinata leaned her forehead on his. "That was a thank you for treating me so well tonight Naru-koi."

Naruto smiled and pulled Hinata so she was flush against him, earning a squeak from the girl. "You're certainly welcome 'Nata, but the night isn't over yet."

They disappeared in a swirl of leaves via _Shunshin_ atop a hill just outside the city. Hinata was confused about why they were there, but then she noticed her surroundings. They were standing at the crest of the hill surrounded by dimly lit lanterns, just barely illuminating the pair. Naruto motioned her to turn around, and when she did her breath caught in her throat at the scene before her.

There was a large meadow filled with lavender plants that showed their natural color beautifully, perfectly accentuated by the pale moonlight. She was speechless at its raw natural beauty, and she was so enthralled that she never noticed another swirl of leaves from behind Naruto and the familiar 'poof' of a Kage Bunshin dispelling.

She finally found her voice. "This is amazingly beautiful Naru-koi… I never knew lavenders grew this late into the year…"

She heard Naruto's voice behind her. "They don't."

Just then the entire field was filled with smoke from what looked like hundreds of Kage Bunshins dispelling, and when the smoke cleared it showed the real lavenders remaining, but they were in a specific pattern. Before Hinata were the lavender Naruto had purchased spelling out the words '_Will you marry me?_'

Her eyes widened and when she turned back around she found Naruto on one knee, holding up an engagement ring up towards her with a large smile on his whiskered face. The band was made of white gold with four purple diamonds spreading out from the center of the ring like flower petals with a larger purple tanzanite stone in the direct center. The light glinted off the ring spectacularly, and even in the darkness the stones shone brightly.

Hinata brought a hand up to her mouth as tears began falling from her eyes. She began slightly trembling, and right before Naruto asked her what was wrong, she threw herself on the blonde knocking him down on his back. She planted her lips firmly on his and tangled her fingers in his hair while tears were falling from her cheeks onto his.

When they finally broke apart she hid her face in the crook of his neck. "Yes… Yes… A million times yes…"

Naruto never stopped smiling as he wrapped his arms around Hinata and slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position with Hinata seated in his lap. He unwrapped his arms and lifted up her left hand, sliding the band on her ring finger. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a matching white gold ring and placed it on his own left hand. When this was done he put his hands to her cheeks and brought her face up so it was level with his.

He then swooped in for another kiss, full of love and passion. Hinata's own hands reclaimed their position in his hair as their kiss heated up. Hinata began moaning once again into his mouth, causing Naruto to chuckle from the vibrations.

He broke apart much to her displeasure causing her to pout slightly. "Naru-koi… Why did you pull back so early?"

He simply chuckled and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Don't worry 'Nata, I already told you, this night is far from over."

Before she could ask another question he wrapped his arms around her waist and disappeared in another swirl of leaves, right into their hotel bedroom.

When Hinata was able to steady herself she found two arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her in to a warm embrace. Before she could utter a single word lips were placed on hers, and she let herself melt into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck and ran her fingers into his spiky locks, fisting the hair in her grasp. She pulled just enough to get him to slightly open his mouth, and wormed her tongue into his mouth where she fought for control. She was met with little resistance and proceeded to release her grip on his hair and bring it to his suit coat, slowly pushing it off his shoulders. It fell to the floor and Hinata brought her hands back up to grip his hair. Naruto pulled off his tie and let it fall with his coat, undoing several top buttons as Hinata caressed his head while still fighting for control.

Soon Naruto's shirt was off and he brought his hands up to Hinata's shoulders to pull her back slightly. Reluctantly, she released his hair and pulled out of his mouth.

"'Nata, I just want to make sure that this is what you want. I don't need to be intimate with you to know that you love me, and we have the rest of our lives to be physical. I… I just don't want this to change anything between us. If something happened and you left… I… I don't think I can survive having someone else leave me like jiji did… I just don't think I'm strong enough for that."

Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a peck on the lips. "Naruto. Listen to me right now. Nothing, and I mean that, nothing, will ever change the way I feel about you. This isn't some fan girl crush like all those girls back in the academy, this is real love. I love your jokes, I love your determination, I love your personality, and I love your caring nature… so far I haven't found anything _not_ to love. And the fact that your very handsome doesn't hurt either. I want to be with you, now and forever, and be the woman you wake up to every single day, the woman you come home to, and the woman you share your dreams with."

Naruto kissed her again. "I love you so much 'Nata."

She tightened her grip on his neck. "I love you too."

They sensually brought their mouths together again and this time Naruto was the one to initiate the attack on her mouth with his tongue and fight her for control. She squealed in surprise and delight, excited that Naruto was finally ready to accept her fully. Naruto brought his hands down to her obi and began to unwrap the intricate knot, and after several seconds he was met with success. Naruto slowly traced the outline of Hinata's body with his fingers, sending chills up her spine. He finally brought his hands up to rest on the fabric on her shoulders and gently pushed the robe off, letting it slip past her shoulders and pooled into a pile of lifeless silk at her ankles, leaving her clad only in soft lavender panties and a matching lacy bra.

Hinata giggled into the kiss and pushed Naruto out of her mouth. "Not very nice Naru-koi… I shouldn't be the only one like this…"

Grinning, she slowly brought her hands down to hem of his pants and unclasped the button and zipper, letting Naruto step out of the dress pants, leaving him in his burnt orange boxers. They both took a few seconds to admire each other's body, and soon they were back in each other's arms, slowly kissing and showing each other the depths of their emotion.

Sometime into the kiss Hinata wrapped her legs around Naruto's waist, feeling his growing arousal brush her underside. Naruto was forced to being his hands down to Hinata's bottom to support the extra weight, and he fell on the bed with Hinata straddling him in a similar manner to his first morning in her bed just a few days prior.

She broke the kiss and with a smirk brought her hands behind her back to the clasp of her bra and removed the offending piece of fabric and freed herself, letting Naruto watch as she reveled herself for the first time. Naruto's eyes were wide with both anticipation and curiosity, he might have been young, but he had long since gone through puberty and knew what got him excited, and right now that person was Hinata. Hinata threw her bra off the bed in some corner to be forgotten until the morning came, and she giggled when she saw Naruto staring.

"It's ok Naruto, you can touch if you want to."

The words seemed to knock Naruto out of his daze, and he ran his hands up Hinata's sides, caressing her developing curves causing her to shiver in excitement. His hands eventually came to a rest below the swell of her breasts and cupped them. A jolt of electricity ran down Hinata's spine when Naruto began to knead the flesh under his hands, and she couldn't contain the moans any longer. Her eyes half closed with pleasure as Naruto continued his ministrations, and his own moans began when Hinata began to grind on his growing arousal, sending waves of pleasure coursing throughout Naruto's being.

Naruto released his grip and held Hinata as he flipped them over, making the girl below him groan.

"Naruuuuu, please… I can't take it any more…"

He just smirked. "I want to do this right. I want to show you that this is out of love, not lust."

Hinata's eyes watered from all the emotions running through her. Never before did she have someone who cared about her so much. She never had someone to hold her when she cried after she was called a failure, or a friend to talk to and share her dreams with, or a loving mother to console her when she woke up at night shivering from a nightmare. But here and now, she finally had someone who wanted to do all those things for her, and show her all the love she never found in her childhood.

Naruto silenced her tears with a kiss, letting Hinata wrap her arms around his neck as she pulled him in closer. Naruto used his left arm to keep some distance between himself and Hinata while he ran his right hand down Hinata's side again and followed his trail across her toned stomach down to her covered womanhood.

Hinata jumped slightly and her eyes shot open when she felt a hand touch her where she had never been touched before. She would have gasped, but her mouth was currently occupied, and there was no way she would push Naruto away just to gasp; so she settled for a throaty moan. The blonde just grinned into the kiss as he kept up his touches. Up until this point he had just been experimenting on what he thought would make Hinata feel good, and gauged her reactions. He had since determined that Hinata was pretty sensitive, and just his touch made her leap off the sheets as her panties became progressively more wet, which made his pride soar.

He was surprised when Hinata brought her legs up and wrapped them around his waist. She then brought her arms down to the bed and pushed off, rolling them both over so Hinata was once again on top.

She pulled her head back and sat up panting. "That wasn't very nice Nar~u~to. You teased be a lot, and now I can't wait any longer."

She crawled back slightly and brought her hands down to the band of Naruto's boxers, pushing them down to his feet and freeing him completely. Hinata's eyes glazed over slightly as she lowered her own panties, retaking her position above Naruto once again panting.

"You… You don't know how long I've dreamt of this… Of being with you… Making love to you… Holding you…"

Naruto smiled and ran his hands up and down Hinata's sides. "Now that dream is a reality. I love you 'Nata."

Hinata smiled back. "I love you too."

She grabbed him and put him into position, raising herself slightly, then plunging herself down, engulfing all of him at once. She let out a squeak and closed her eyes tight, letting the initial pain fade while each second brought more pleasure than pain.

Hinata had her hands on Naruto's chest to steady herself while Naruto continued to run his hands up and down her sides to comfort her. It was torture for him. He had never felt something so absolutely… blissful. His entire body was on fire from the pleasure coursing through his nerves, and Hinata's involuntary squeezes didn't help either. She was warm, tight, and wet all at the same time, and she was all his. He was using all of his willpower to not start moving within her; he wanted their first time to be just as good for her as it was for him.

After what seemed like an eternity she slowly began moving her hips against his, sending jolts of pleasure throughout Naruto's body. He rested his hands on her hip to help her move against him, and before long she built up a quick pace. Her hips rocked forward and back, getting faster and faster. Hinata started lightly moaning from the feeling of being filled so completely. The pleasure she felt only intensified when Naruto began thrusting his hips up.

The grinding was soon replaced, and she was left speechless from the blonde's motions.

"Yes… Oh Kami yes… Faster… Please…"

Naruto was spurred on by her moans and begs for more. He reached the limit for what he could do in his position, so he gripped her shoulders and spun them around so she was on bottom again. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kept up her grip on his shoulder while he grinned down at her, giving her a quick kiss.

"I have you pinned now 'Nata."

She giggled and thrust up her hips against his causing his eyes to roll into the back of his head. When he regained his composure he brought his face to hers and gave her a quick kiss before he buried his head in the pillow next to her head. He could catch all the delightful scents and aromas mixed with her natural smell that was emanating from Hinata, and he found it intoxicating. He drew back, then buried himself once again deep within her. Hinata's head flew back into the pillows and her back arched off the bed, her mouth fixed in the shape of an 'O'. Again and again the blonde drew himself out of her only to ram himself back in, taking her to new heights of pleasure and sending jolts throughout her body.

Her head was bobbing up and down on the pillows, and when Naruto gripped her hips to move even faster, she knew she would be sore in the morning. Hinata opened her eyes slightly when suddenly she felt him hit a spot within her that sent liquid fire racing all throughout her body. She could feel something building within her, and she knew it would only be a matter of seconds before she lost the battle for control. A stray tear of happiness fell from her eye and she murmured underneath their panting.

"I love you…"

Her eyes shot open as something deep within her exploded out and she clamped down on her partner, screaming out her release. Naruto couldn't handle the sensations, and soon he too went over the edge with her as his eyes glazed over and he lost himself in the torrent of pleasure. They stayed that way for several more seconds before they both collapsed on each other panting and gasping for breath.

As the adrenaline began to leave their system their eyes began to close from exhaustion. Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata and rolled them over so she was on top of him, resting on his chest. Naruto looked down at his future wife and smiled, brushing one of her bangs behind her ear as she fell asleep. He bent his head down and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you 'Nata… Now and forever."

**END**

**Well, there is yet another chapter from yours truly. Please review/PM and tell me what you think**

**Peace**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello Everyone, im back! Well, these past two weeks have been nothing but tests and papers, so just image a 10 pg report on gravity (you heard that, 10 pages of nothing but bullshit on gravity) coupled with a test in Thermodynamics and that equals one shitty week.**

**Anywho, Ill be on spring break soon, so expect me to update several other of my neglected stories, hopefully.**

**Also, i would like to thank everyone who has shown their overwhelming support for this story, and it warms my heart to know that so many people out there take time out of their busy days to let me know that im doing a good job. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto**

**_Chapter 4_**

The sunlight crept through the blinds and flooded the hotel room with light, shining right on the young couples faces. Slowly, Hinata's eyes fluttered open and the first thing she noticed that her legs were still intertwined with Naruto's limbs, not to mention she was still laying fully on Naruto's chest, naked. A smile crept across her face and she sighed happily as the thought that one of her dreams had come true, and she couldn't think of a time when she had been more content with her life. As she untangled herself from the pile of limbs and moved to push of the bed, two arms wrapped around her, pulling her in tight.

"Don't go… I'll lose all my warmth…"

Hinata smiled and hugged herself to the boy below her. "We can't just lounge about all day. Jiraiya-sensei told us to continue our training outside the city starting today. We should get up, and I need a shower too…"

Naruto sighed and slowly released Hinata from his embrace, letting her push off his chest. He watched with wide eyes as she exposed her upper half slowly, and he could feel himself reacting in a similar way as the night before. When Hinata noticed his gaze, she blushed and unconsciously covered herself, causing Naruto to also blush and shut his eyes tight.

"S-Sorry 'Nata… I didn't mean to stare. I'll close my eyes if you want me to so you can go to the bathroom and shower."

He heard giggling and cracked an eye open to see the girl above him uncover herself and put a hand on his cheek.

"Naru-koi, there isn't any reason to be embarrassed, not anymore at least."

Naruto fought off the feelings of embarrassment and just closed his eyes chuckling, rubbing his cheek into her hand. "Yeah, I guess you're right…"

"Thank you for that by the way."

Naruto opened his eyes again and looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Hinata laid back down atop him again and traced patterns on his chest. "Well, I mean, last night was easily the most amazing night of my life. The dinner was fantastic and you such a gentleman the entire night; it made me feel special. Then when you proposed… Well, that was the most romantic thing I've ever heard of, and trust me, I know romance since Kurenai-sensei talks about all the stuff Asuma-sensei does for her, and her stories don't even come close to what you did. I was just so happy to finally be able to show you how much I loved you."

Naruto just chuckled. "'Nata, I already knew that you loved me, in fact I don't think there has been a day this past week where you haven't told me so. All I want is for you to be happy, so if you're happy, I'm happy… But for the past few days I got this feeling that I needed to give you some kind of special night to remember."

She giggled and looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Oh really?"

Naruto looked confused for a second, and then his cheeks turned red at her implication. "No, not like _that_. That happened because I finally had enough time to prepare myself for taking that kind of step up in our relationship… especially because we still didn't know each other very well…"

The azure-haired girl just sighed happily. "Yeah, I'm glad you had us wait."

Naruto smiled and rubbed her bare back. "Plus, I still felt like I owed you it."

Hinata's smile faded and she looked up into his eyes. "Naru-koi, you don't _owe_ be anything. I want you to be with me because you want to, not because you feel like you _owe_ me."

Naruto nervously shook his head. "Wait! I didn't mean it like that! I just meant that I felt bad because I never gave you any of those special romantic moments that couples have! I never got to make you feel special and loved, so I felt the least I could do was treat you to a romantic evening…"

Hinata leveled her gaze on his face for a few lingering moments before returning to her spot on his chest as a small mirthful chuckle echoed out of her. "You really are terrible with words Naru-koi. You almost put yourself in the nin-doghouse, and we aren't even married yet."

She felt the blonde under her let out a sigh of relief.

"And we have the rest of our lives to create those moments Naru-koi, so don't feel bad about anything. Let's just enjoy the time we have together."

They just laid there for several minutes, basking in the warmth of each other's bodies and trying to fight off the feelings of drowsiness. After a particularly long yawn, Hinata finally rolled off him and got up with a stretch.

"Ok, now we REALLY need to get up. If we don't finish this training schedule Jiraiya-sensei said he would make us do triple the normal workload, and I really don't want to test his ability to discover if we did it or not."

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right… Well, guess we should shower first then?"

Hinata just looked at him with a smirk. "How very forward of you Mr. Uzumaki."

Naruto cocked his head to the side and tried to figure out what she was insinuating, and then all at once it clicked. "Geeze 'Nata… I don't know whose worse, Ero-Sennin or you… I meant that we should both take showers, not take one together… though I wouldn't exactly be against it…"

Hinata grinned and walked towards the bathroom. "Well come on then, I won't wait all day to get this sweat and grime off. No funny business though, I need to be able to actually train today."

She didn't even need to look back to see Naruto scramble out of the bed and make his way towards the bathroom.

**_Four Hours Later Outside the City_**

Naruto and Hinata were panting and out of breath.

Today had been the day for a rigorous physical training regimen followed by a rough spar between the two where they were each supposed to use what they had been learning. The result had been that both young adults had shown noticeable improvement in the course of only a few short days, being able to complete the complete physical portion without a break. During the spar they were excited to see just _how_ they had each improved. This of course led to an hour of non-stop sparring between the two, under the careful observation of their sensei of course.

Then again, how they managed to find their wayward sensei is an embarrassing tale that begins with a very perturbed Naruto and ended with a very hung over Jiraiya stumbling out of a casino mumbling about someone called the "legendary sucker". After they forced several cups of water down his throat and a few eggs in his stomach, they finally managed to secure a few hours of his time and an abandoned field outside the city to use for their training. Needless to say, they both ignored the lecherous grin Jiraiya gave the couple when he noticed the way Hinata carefully sat down or got back up.

Before the spar Naruto had been told to watch how much chakra he put into each jutsu, especially his _Kage Bunshin_. Naruto didn't really understand what those instructions meant, especially since he had always just 'used' the jutsu, and hadn't paid any attention to how much chakra he had used unless he was trying to make a lot of clones all at once. To his surprise he found that he had been using _way_ too much chakra for each clone, about twice the necessary amount actually, and of course he was naturally curious as to why he never noticed earlier. Jiraiya told him that his reserves were just too large for him to notice, and this particular jutsu, while very chakra intensive was actually quite easy to perform control wise. In fact, Jiraiya mused that it might just be the perfect technique for someone like Naruto who had one of the largest chakra reserves in the world.

Jiraiya made it very clear that in a battle, each and every single ounce of chakra should be conserved and used with extreme care, hence the reason why he had Naruto practice his chakra control exercises. What Jiraiya didn't tell him was that those chakra control exercises, particularly the leaf cutting exercise, were the first step in learning many of the _Futton (Wind Release)_ jutsu. But the real reason Jiraiya decided to start Naruto in his control training was that he knew that Naruto needed to increase his control in order to begin the next stage of his training; learning the Yondaime's famed technique the _rasengan_.

Hinata had been told to focus on using her Juken style that flowed around her opponent instead of standing firm and battling it out blow for blow. The day after the group had left Konoha Jiraiya had watched as Hinata went through the katas for the Juken, and he commented that she looked to rigid and stiff while practicing. It was then that she admitted that ever since her defeat in the Chunnin exams, she had been incorporating a taijutsu style called _Nagareru ken (Flowing Fist)_ into the Hyuga's traditional Juken style. The old Sannin seemed genuinely impressed with her initiative in finding a fighting style that matched her preferences. He gave her tips and pointers on how she would be able to add her innate flexibility to her attacks, which is where she was now.

She had been dodging each and every one of Naruto's clones and dispersing them with a quick jab here or a palm strike there. Of course, her stamina was nowhere near her opponent's, so once she began to tire she found the she starting taking more and more hits. Of course, they both weren't hitting each other at full strength, but they were putting enough into it where they were both sore. At the end of their long spar they both fell to their knees for breath.

Jiraiya made a mental note to teach Naruto some kind of taijutsu style to replace his bastardized version that relied heavily on the distractive potential of Kage Bunshins. He could see that Naruto was a very strong individual with a mostly untapped potential; he just needed a mentor that would take the time and explain things to him in a way he could understand.

Jiraiya stood up with a grunt and stretched his back. "Alright you too, that wasn't too bad. Hinata, great job in anticipating his movements and flowing around them, though you need to work on your stamina a bit more in order to hold up in longer fights." Hinata nodded and walked over to her knapsack to grab a bottle of water. "Naruto," The blonde looked up at his sensei. "That was… good. Well, about as good as I had hoped for. I thought for sure you two would go longer, but you two seem tired for some reason. Did you two not get enough sleep last night or something?"

Hinata choked on her water and started coughing violently while Naruto just turned a deep scarlet.

Jiraiya chuckled a few times before he got serious again. "In all seriousness, I did expect more from you Naruto."

Naruto snorted. "Gee, thanks Ero-Sennin…"

Jiraiya sighed. "What I mean is that there is still so much more that you can do. You have more potential in you than I've ever seen before, and that means a lot coming from me."

Naruto smiled. "Really? You think so?"

Jiraiya grinned. "I know so. You're strong, really strong, but you rarely land any hits because you don't have a solid taijutsu style. You just focus on using Kage Bunshins to distract your opponents in order to get in close to hopefully get a few hits in. You also don't really have any other jutsu besides that one and the _Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)_, so you are really limited to hand to hand combat in terms of what you can do fighting wise."

Naruto huffed. "Well, that isn't really my fault. No one would teach me anything, and whenever I asked for help people would always tell me to get lost."

Jiraiya looked sad for a moment. "Well that's why I'm here kid. Now tell me something, you managed some progress in the leaf cutting exercise right?"

Naruto nodded and picked up a leaf on the ground, placing it in his palm. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a few seconds before opening his eyes and hands, revealing a cut about a quarter of the way across the leaf.

Jiraiya picked the leaf out of his hand and inspected it before grunting in approval. "Good enough. Now here, catch."

With elite shinobi speed Jiraiya darted into his pocket and retrieved a small spherical object, tossing it to his blonde student. Naruto barely had time to catch the object thrown at him, and when he did he had a very confused look on his face.

"Ero-Sennin… why did you give me a water balloon?"

Hinata was also watching them and had the same question on her mind. They both watched as Jiraiya brought his right hand up, palm towards the sky.

"Because, right now I am going to begin teaching you a new jutsu. One of the Yondaime's own creations to be exact, the rasengan."

As he was speaking Hinata and Naruto watched as a small blue orb of chakra came to life in his hand. It was the most intriguing thing either of them had ever seen, ripples of pure energy swirling around like a maelstrom that just reeked of raw power all held within the restricting confines of a ball no bigger than the water balloon Naruto currently held in his hands. They would have added the description beautiful if Jiraiya hadn't shoved the orb of energy in the tree behind him, shattering the bark in millions of tiny pieces and blowing the trunk apart.

Naruto currently had one of the largest shit-eating grins of his face. "Wicked… I get to learn THAT!?"

Jiraiya smirked and nodded his head. "Yes you do, though it won't be easy. It took the Yondaime several years to create this technique, and it took me several months when he taught me the necessary steps. I believe you can do it in a month flat, given that you put your all into it."

Naruto gave the water balloon an experimental squeeze and looked back up to his sensei. "I'll get it down in two weeks."

Jiraiya just smirked. "Cocky are we? Alright then, how about a deal? If you manage to get it down in two weeks ill teach you a jutsu of my own creation."

Naruto grinned. "You had better get ready to teach me that jutsu, because you're going down Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya gave a mirthful chuckle. "Alright gaki, show me what you can do. Now, the first step of the training." Jiraiya produced another balloon in his hand. "Is to pop the balloon by channeling your chakra into it to pop the balloon like this."

A look of concentration appeared on his face for a split second before the edges of the balloon seemed to spike out at every point and it burst open, the water exploding outwards in every direction.

"Now, if you can do that, then the first part of your training is complete, but it won't be easy. Now, while you do that, I want you to make around 50 or so clones and have them continue the leaf cutting exercise. I'm sticking to my earlier condition that I won't start teaching you _Futon (Wind Release)_ jutsu until that exercise is mastered. Understood?"

The blonde returned a smirk and made the familiar cross seal, bringing to life 50 copies of himself that immediately grabbed a leaf and set to work while the original turned his attention to the water balloon in his hand.

Jiraiya suppressed a smile and turned to his other student. "Ok, you next. Now, I take it you won't be able to use your legs very much today, am I right?"

Hinata blushed red and tried to shrink in on herself, but she could still feel the Sannin's smirk. She spared a glance over at Naruto and saw him equally red, and he looked like he was about to say something until the older man continued.

"Heh, sorry about that, couldn't resist. Once you make a living on what most people consider embarrassing you don't really have a filter anymore. But in all seriousness, I had hoped that you two would be more responsible with this issue. I'm all for the romance mumbo jumbo, but what if you two had gotten attacked when I wasn't around? With your limited mobility it's entirely possible that you could have been seriously injured or captured. Your name alone paints a massive target on your back, and many less than savory people would give their left nut to get their hands on an unsealed pair of Byakugan eyes."

Both teens looked at the ground in a chastised fashion. Neither of them had even considered those points, or any negative for that matter. They had been so caught up in the moment that they hadn't even considered the consequences for their actions. Slowly Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucers when he suddenly realized a very important detail that he had overlooked…

"Did you guys at least use preventative measures?"

Naruto's breathing quickened and he turned his gaze towards Hinata, to see that she was as calm as could be.

"Hai… I used a birth control jutsu that Kurenai-sensei taught me."

Both Naruto and Jiraiya sighed in relief. Sure, Naruto loved Hinata and wanted to have a family with her, but not yet, not when they were still only thirteen going on fourteen. He knew that the strain pregnancy can put on the body of a small girl like Hinata could possibly be fatal, so yes, he was quite relieved that Hinata showed more responsibility than he did.

Jiraiya shook his head. "Well at least _one_ of you two thinks with some clarity."

Naruto wanted to argue, but he knew there was a point to be made, so he swallowed his pride and continued with his exercises.

Hinata bowed. "Gomen sensei, I promise that we will be more responsible in the future."

The older Sannin kept his gaze on the pair for a few seconds longer before sighing and slumping back against the tree. "Geez, I feel like your freakin parents, not your sensei. Alright, now that that is out of the way, I want you to continue your training as usual. From what I saw your chakra reserves have begun to increase. Question though, did you notice that you were able to spar longer before getting tired and were able to move quicker?"

Hinata nodded her head in confirmation.

"Well, that is because of two things. The first is the physical training regimen which jumpstarted your muscular growth. I mean, it was like your sensei never put you through a training regimen before, or your team babied you."

Hinata hung her head. "Hai, my sensei didn't train me as harshly as she could have. She wasn't trying to hold me back or anything; but… I think she was just concerned about me and didn't want me to get hurt."

Jiraiya shook his head. "Well, she _did_ hold you back, and it's only now that you are beginning to realize your full potential. I'm not like other senseis, I won't hold back, and I sure as hell wont baby anyone."

Hinata just took the criticism with her head hung. She knew it was true, all of it. Sure, Kurenai had her wellbeing as a priority, but that meant that she wasn't being trained as harshly as she should have been.

Jiraiya looked at her and sighed. "Alright, now that I'm done with all the yelling, I think it's time that you…"

"DAMMIT!"

Hinata and Jiraiya jumped slightly from the unexpected outburst and turned towards Naruto quickly with confused faces. When he saw that he had their attention he chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry, stupid balloon wont pop… keeps flattening out like a disc…"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Just a few hundred more tries and you might be ready to move on to the second stage. But don't just swirl the chakra, that won't get you anywhere."

The young blonde just sighed and went back his training while Jiraiya faced the Hyuga girl again.

"Like I was saying, it's great that you are increasing your reserves, but it'll still take at least several years to create the kind of defensive jutsu I envisioned, so in the meantime I'm going to have you just keep up the chakra control training with the leaves, but each day you are going to be using different tenketsu points."

Hinata nodded and looked over at her fiancé struggling with his own challenge. "Am I going to be learning anything else than chakra control?"

Jiraiya smirked. "Oh heavens no. That would be waaaaaay too easy. No, you are going to continue your physical training regimen and I'll help you develop that nifty little Jyuken style your experimenting with. Now, I won't really teach you Ninjutsu or Genjutsu because it doesn't really compliment the way you fight, not to mention your old man would be pretty pissed at me if I did."

The young Hyuga could only smirk and nod along with how accurate Jiraiya's previous statement was.

"But with that being said, it means I have free reign when it comes to Taijutsu."

The Sannin crouched down into a defensive position with his legs bent out and his hands close to his body.

"Now, come at me and try and hit me… if you can."

**_In Konoha_**

Sasuke Uchiha was walking down the sidewalk with his team mate on his way to the hospital.

He wasn't injured or anything, well, aside from the fact that is mental health was declining from the fact that he was still forced to spend time with his pink-haired team mate who always seemed to know where he was every waking second of the day. His only saving grace was that he could possibly be promoted to Chunnin and be allowed to finally break away from his team and start some _real_ training, not to mention the solo missions that would let him ditch his obsessive fan girl. Seriously, how many times did a guy have to say no?

But no, this was just a routine checkup to make sure the seal wasn't acting up. Ever since the Chunnin exams he was forced to go once a week and make sure he wasn't under any kind of "influence", so to say.

Sasuke sneered at the mere thought that someone could control him. 'What a load of crap. Every time I finally find a way to get stronger it's taken away from me! It's infuriating!'

He took a deep breath and unclenched his fists, pushing through the doors of the hospital while Sakura strode in right behind him.

"So what do you think Sasuke?"

The Uchiha blinked and turned his head towards his team mate. "Think about what?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "About Naruto. I mean, we haven't seen him for a while, and he seemed really depressed after Hokage-sama's funeral. Do you think we should visit him or something? We _do_ have a few days off till they can find the next Hokage."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the mention of the blonde haired idiot. The sheer memory of him brought back some very unpleasant feelings, feelings he had thought he had long since buried. He felt so helpless when he was stuck on that tree branch and that psycho redhead was charging at him. It was just like that night all those years back: not able to do anything except sit there and accept his fate.

That is, until _he_ came charging in, head first like always, and saved not only his life, but Sakura's too. Naruto had gotten so strong in that month, whereas before the exams even started, Sasuke _knew_ he could win in a fight, but now… he wasn't so sure. And that pissed him off.

"I don't know where he is, and I don't care. You can visit him if you want, but leave me out of it."

And with that Sasuke strolled down the halls to his assigned room at the back of the hospital. Everyone was busy scurrying here and there as he walked, and he paid them no mind. They had a job to do just like he did, so there was no point in trying to converse with any of them.

That is, until he went past a room whose conversation was _very_ interesting.

"So, do you think Kakashi will be ok?"

Sasuke halted in his steps and looked towards the room. 'That sounded like that green freak's sensei.'

Sasuke walked closer to the door and pressed his ear against it, and little did he know that such a simple action could have such dire consequences.

Sasuke heard some muffled voices and then clear as day he heard something he had been waiting to hear for years. "So is it true? Did Itachi Uchiha really infiltrate the village and fight several Jounin just to go after the Uzumaki kid?"

Sasuke froze. 'He… he's back?'

Then Gai's voice sounded through the door. "Yes, it's true… He had a partner with him, a very strong shinobi by the name of Hoshigake Kisame who was able to go toe to toe with me, but yes, he is without a doubt after Uzumaki Naruto. Last I heard from Kakashi they are somewhere near a post-station still looking for Tsunade."

Sasuke threw the door open and glared at the two people inside. His hunch was right; Gai and a haggard-looking doctor looked back at the Raven-haired youth in surprise. On the hospital bed was an unconscious Kakashi.

"Where are they!?"

Gai sighed and walked towards Sasuke. "Look Sasuke, I know what you're thinking right now, but you have to-"

Sasuke punched the wall next to him. "You don't understand! I have to know where they are! I have to kill him!"

Gai knew that he had to do something to stop the Uchiha or he could easily make a huge mistake that could put his life at risk. "Now Sasuke, let's not do anything hasty now…"

Sasuke shot him a glared and turned around running out of the room, nearly knocking over a pink-haired girl on his way out.

**_With Naruto and Hinata_**

They had been traveling for several days, and the two Genin had never known such effort. Every one of their muscles was screaming in agony with every move they made, and their chakra networks had been pushed to the limit. Every day presented its own set of challenges to be overcome, and though Jiraiya was definitely an aged man, he proved to them time and again why he is one of the most feared men on the continent.

It was received well when Jiraiya told them they would be stopping in a small town to rest up, and as soon as the two teens entered the room they quickly unpacked their things and rested together with Hinata using her fiancé's chest as her own human pillow.

Jiraiya adopted a warm smile and covered them both with a blanket before heading out of the room to gather more information about their target. Apparently she had been seen in this area in the past few weeks or so, a clear indicator that they were catching up.

It is safe to say that when the pair had been woken up by a pounding on the door, they were not in the best of moods.

It was Hinata who woke up first. "Mmmm, Naruto… go get the door…"

Naruto mumbled something in his sleep about naps and proceeded to go back to sleep.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Hinata cracked a bloodshot eye open and turned on her side off Naruto. "Naruto-kuuuuuun, go get the door!"

The blonde took a deep breath and slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He looked over at Hinata who had almost fallen back to sleep.

'She's lucky she's so damn cute…'

Naruto stretched and cracked his back, snaking his legs over the side of the bed and slowly rising to his feet.

_KNOCK KNOCK_

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the door and grumbled. "I swear if this isn't important I'm going to be really pissed off…"

_KOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

"YEAH, I heard you the first damn time!"

Naruto marched up to the door and grasped the handle, throwing the door open.

"Now, what is so damn important that you…"

The rest of whatever he was about to say died in his throat when he looked into a pair of fully matured Sharingan eyes, and they weren't his team mates.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you are to come with us immediately."

Naruto froze as he stared into the spinning eyes of his would-be kidnapper, unable to even breath in the presence of such a powerful and well trained killer. Luckily for him, there was someone else there to snap him out of it.

"Naru-koi, who is it?"

Naruto flinched and looked between the two men, only now realizing that there even was a second person there. The blonde threw the door shut in their faces and jumped back, breathing heavily.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned towards his fiancé and grabbed her hand. "We have to GO 'Nata, NOW!"

Hinata had a very confused and dazed look on her face. "What? Why do we have to-"

The question she was about to ask was answered for her when the door to their room was kicked open and a very sour looking Uchiha strode into the room.

"Now that was very rude Naruto. Come with us now before we are forced to take more, _drastic_ measures."

Naruto's response was to bring his hands up into the familiar cross seal, bring several seconds of distractions to life, just enough time for him to grab Hinata and jump out the window without ever looking back.

A single swing of Kisame's sword was enough to clear the room of Kage Bunshins, and when the smoke cleared a feral grin could be seen on his face as he watched his target try to make his escape.

"You know Itachi; I think this might not be as boring as I thought it would be. This kid just might be some fun after all."

Itachi sighed and adjusted the hat on his head. "Just remember Kisame that we need him _alive_."

The grin on the blue man's face got even wider. "Oh don't worry about that. He'll be very much alive when I'm through with him."

**_With Naruto and Hinata_**

Panting, the two made their way to a spot outside the small town where they would be able to hid amongst the trees. After they had jumped out the window Naruto made a group of clones to find their wayward sensei, but he knew that would take time, time they didn't have with those two after them.

Naruto and Hinata entered a small clearing and dropped down to the ground to catch their breath.

Hinata was on her hands and knees, gulping large amounts of air. "Do you… think we… lost them?"

Naruto shook his head. "No… but I think… we have a few moments to rest at least."

"Oh how wrong you two are."

The Genin jumped to their feet as an eerie voice seemed to float across the clearing, seemingly moving with the breeze.

"Why are you making this harder for yourselves? You know you can't run from us."

Naruto took Hinata's hand in his and pulled her closer. "Why don't you show yourselves? Afraid of a few Genin like us!?"

A darker, more sinister chuckle floated through the air. "It's a shame we have to do this; you are my kind of Shinobi, cheeky and headstrong."

Out of the tree line two figures in black cloaks with read clouds and straw hats materialized and approached the couple. The sheer killing intent radiating off them reminded Naruto too much of his battle with Shukaku, a memory he was willing to go his entire life without having to recall.

Hinata wilted under the pressure and began shaking. "Naruto-kun… I'm scared…"

Naruto gripped her hand tighter and held her even closer. "Me… Me too…"

The two figures stopped several yards away and removed their hats. The first looked like an aged version of Sasuke with thinner cheeks and a more calculating air about him. It didn't take a genius to know that the man before them was the man responsible for the massacre of the entire Uchiha clan, a feat he accomplished alone in the span of a few hours.

The person next to him looked far more strange, and deadly. His blue skin and hair accentuated his toothy grin and feral smirk, giving him a definitive shark-like appearance, though neither of those features downplayed the aura of death he was exuding at all.

Naruto looked between the two men carefully. "Who… Who are you and what do you want with me?"

The Uchiha stepped forward. "My name is Uchiha Itachi, and this is my partner Hoshigake Kisame. We were tasked by our organization Akatsuki with collecting the Kyubi Jinchuriki, now, be a good boy and come with us peacefully, while we are still willing to let the Hyuga live."

Naruto felt Hinata stiffen in his arms, and he knew what he had to do to ensure her safety. He made a promise to himself after she brought him back from the edge that he would always put her before himself, and now it was time to honor that promise.

He looked down one last time at the trembling girl in his arms, and then turned his gaze back up to the two men. "If I go with you two… do you promise to let her go?"

Naruto heard a gasp below him, and it broke his heart when he heard Hinata began to beg and plead with him not to go through with what he was planning to do.

He saw Kisame's grin turn into a frown, but he wasn't concerned with that. The only thing he was paying attention to was the nod Itachi gave him.

With a sigh Naruto hugged Hinata close to him and turned them around so his back was facing the two Akatsuki members. Despite her sobs and gasps he kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear as quiet as he could.

"Just follow my lead."

The stiffening of the girl in his arms was the only acknowledgement he received.

Naruto raised his voice louder so it could be heard by the two behind him.

"Hinata, when you saved me that night I promised myself that I would always put your life ahead of mine, and now is the time to honor that promise. Just know that these past few weeks have been the happiest of my life, and I only wish I had more time to show you just how glad I am that you were able to love an idiot like me."

Naruto let go of Hinata and turned back around, slowly walking towards his impending demise.

Kisame closed his eyes and sighed. "Well shit, and here I thought that he would be just a little fun. Why can't any of them ever fight back?"

Itachi rolled his eyes and faced his partner. "Why must you always complain about the smallest things? Why can't you just be happy that-"

Itachi's shinobi instincts were the only thing that allowed him to avoid the swirling orb of energy aimed at the center of his chest. Kisame however, was not so lucky, and took the attack head on, sending him flying back towards the trees.

The clone tasked with attacking Itachi was swiftly dealt with by a chop the base of his skull, severing the spinal cord and causing it to burst into a puff of smoke. Itachi looked at his partner who was picking himself off and brushing some of the dirt off.

Naruto grinned, proud that he was able to get the drop on such high level opponents, though he knew that most of it was dumb luck and a lapse in their guard that allowed him to even get close enough to use the incomplete version of the Rasengan.

Naruto jumped back to avoid any counter. "How was _that_ for fighting back?"

Kisame just chuckled and cracked his neck. "Well, you managed to tear my cloak a bit, I'll give you that. You're still years away from being able to fight us brat."

Naruto smirked. "Oh, we know, but you guys leave yourselves open quite a bit."

Kisame looked down and saw the ground he was standing on was rigged with over a dozen high-grade explosive notes, already being detonated.

He smirked. "Now that's more like it!"

Itachi was momentarily dazed by the sudden shockwave behind him, and out of the corner of his eye he was the Hyuga rearing her right arm back to hit him in the back, most likely aiming for his heart. With inhumane speed he spun around and caught her by the throat.

"Pathetic. You're lucky that Kisame is playing around, or you would both be dead by now. But I've grown tired of the games, so any last words for the Jinchuriki before you die?"

To his surprise the girl smirked. "Yeah, just a few… NOW HINATA!"

Itachi cursed and turned his head to see the Hyuga coming at his back again. Just as he was about to intercept her path he felt two weights on his arms, and looking down he saw two Kage Bunshins pinning his arms down with as much strength as he could.

The blonde grinned up at the Uchiha. "Never trust a fox!"

The next thing Itachi felt was a surge of chakra slam through his back and shred his heart to pieces. His eyes grew wide and blood sprayed from his mouth, covering the Hyuga in a mist of red.

Hinata couldn't believe it! She and Naruto had defeated on of the most feared missing nin in Konoha's history, and they did it together!

"Naruto-kun! We did it! We…"

She watched as the Kage Bunshins disappeared, not erupting into smoke, but rather just fading from existence.

Hinata looked perplexed. "Naruto, what's going-"

To her horror she watched as Itachi's form began shrinking down, his black hair turning blonde, his cold red eyes taking on a blue hue, and his pitch black cloak transforming into the Hyuga robes that Naruto had taken too during their travels.

Hinata's breath caught in her throat, and tears pricked at the edges of her eyes as reality tore through her being. She watched with a trembling form as her fiancé, the boy whom she could easily say she had fallen in love with, coughed up more blood from her attack.

Hinata looked past Naruto and saw an upset looking Kisame and a worried Itachi.

"You see Itachi; this is why I hate it when you use Genjutsu, because shit like _THIS_ happens!"

Hinata fell to her knees in despair, unable to accept what had transpired in the last five seconds, but just because she couldn't accept it didn't mean reality wasn't about to rear its ugly head.

She looked up into the face of the boy who promised to stay by her side till the end of her days, and saw confusion, pain, and fear. She couldn't even get her body to catch him as he fell forward as her name fell from his lips.

**END**

***Audible Gasp* What the hell am i thinking!? Well, just know that ive been planning this for some time, and though i am not 100% satisfied with how it played out, its definately in the upper 80's.**

**I guess we will all have to wait until next time wont we?**

**Please tell me what you think, or PM me if you're shy**

**Peace**


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